World Bunkering >Articles > Company profiles > LUKOIL BENELUX B.V.

LUKOIL Benelux B.V. is a prominent and reliable physical supplier of bunker fuels in the ARA region (Amsterdam-Rotterdam- Antwerp). We are supported by the logistic and financial strengths of our parent company LITASCO SA in Geneva, Switzerland. LUKOIL Benelux B.V. is part of the Russian oil major, LUKOIL, which also has widescale operations outside of Russia.

Our clientele varies from the well-known large and medium shipping lines to other physical suppliers and trading companies. In the last couple of years our company has had a market share of 10-15% in its home market of the Rotterdam and Amsterdam ports. In June 2010 the Credit Risk Management Committee of LITASCO SA approved a strategy for further growth of our bunker trade in ARA, increased credit lines for a significant number of our customers, and allowed more flexibility in dealing with new customers.

This step clearly shows that LITASCO SA and LUKOIL Benelux B.V. have adapted themselves very well to the post-crisis situation in the bunker industry and feel comfortable to explore new market opportunities. However, we continue to closely monitor the situation in the market and are ready to implement necessary changes in order to be able to successfully face any new challenges and sustain the growth of our business.

In July 2010 LUKOIL Benelux B.V. made a decision to close its Amsterdam office and centralise handling of all the bunker enquiries through one contact point, Bunker Desk in Rotterdam (Cappelle aan den Ijssel). The formal closing of our Amsterdam office took place at the end of July 2010. This step has proved very successful and has helped our company to optimise its operations. Since then, LUKOIL Benelux B.V. has been serving its clientele more quickly and efficiently.

Since September 2009, LUKOIL Benelux B.V. has supplied bunker fuels to the Belgian port of Antwerp from the refinery TRN (Total Raffinaderij Nederland) in Flushing, where the LUKOIL Group purchased a 45% stake, and other locations in ARA. We are also planning to receive a bunker license for fully-fledged operations in Antwerp by the end of Q1 2011. In addition to the ARA region, we are also active in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Our company is planning to get on firm footing with its bunker supplies in a number of the European ports. In the last two years LUKOIL Benelux B.V. has also been successfully targeting the Russian northern ports of St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Vysotsk, Primorsk and Murmansk, supplying bunker fuels to a wide variety of shipping companies.

Since 2005, LUKOIL Benelux B.V. and our partner Burando have been jointly operating Service Terminal Rotterdam (STR), which enables LUKOIL Benelux B.V. to store and blend fuel oils to necessary specifications. Currently new storage tanks are being constructed at STR, which will significantly increase total storage capacity of the terminal. The new tanks are expected to become operational by the end of 1H 2012. Having our own terminal and purchasing almost all of our bunker fuels from our parent company LITASCO gives us a competitive advantage in the saturated market with still relatively slack demand in the post-crisis market environment. Due to this competitive advantage, LUKOIL Benelux B.V. is in a position to design and implement flexible delivery strategies.

As a supplier of a wide range of grades, we receive bunker enquiries and provide quotations for the products IFO 700, 600, 500, 380, 240, 180, 120, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20 cst, MDO DMB and MGO. We can also make other products available upon your request. In order to ensure quick and timely deliveries of our products to sea-going vessels or to other physical suppliers, we currently have a fleet of six time-chartered barges with deadweight ranging from about 1,700 mt to 6,130 MT. Provided by FTS Hofftrans, the barge operating company of our partner Burando, they are all double-hulled barges, including several very new ones with greater bunkering capabilities. Should we require a greater capacity, we have the option of hiring other barges for spot deliveries in the range from about 1,700 mt up to 9,200 mt with both FTS Hofftrans and alternative reliable transport companies in the ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Our team of bunker traders and operators has all it takes to become and remain your reliable partner: experience, expertise and thorough knowledge of the bunker markets. They are friendly and available for your enquiries 24 hours per any day. LUKOIL Benelux B.V. will gladly look into your enquiries for the regions where we have been actively operating, as well as for any other regions in the world.

We look forward to your bunker enquiries and hope to do business with you soon.

Office address: De Linie 1, Capelle aan den IJssel, NL-2905 AX, the Netherlands
Post address: PO Box 377, Capelle aan den IJssel, NL-2900 AJ, the Netherlands
Tel. 24/7: +31 10 264 27 00
E-mail: Bunkers@lukoil.nl