Trafigura Group has committed to work with the government of Somaliland to upgrade the Berbera Oil Terminus facilities and position it as a gateway to serve customers within the country, and integrate oil logistics across the Horn of Africa.
Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, on Monday delivered a first shipment of low sulphur gasoil to the Port of Berbera, following the signing of a milestone storage agreement earlier this year with the Government of Somaliland’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism.
The company said, with the full support of the Somaliland government, it intends to upgrade Oil Terminus in a phased approach to improve and expand the storage capacity, and eventually facilitate the import of jet fuel and LPG to meet local and regional demand whilst ensuring international health and safety standards.
Plans also include increasing the draft to enable larger vessels to be received and allow local traders more economical import of refined products and access to re-export markets.
This, Trafigura says, will help support the Somaliland Government’s ambition to transform Berbera port as a strategic hub in a region where demand is growing year on year.
Somaliland Minister for Trade Industry and Tourism Mohamoud Hassan Saad expressed the government’s excitement at the development.
“We’re delighted to be working with a leading independent, international company like Trafigura to improve the quality and reliability of refined petroleum product supply into the country,” said Saad.
He added” “By working with Trafigura there will be increased transparency, high standards, and increased competitiveness across the supply chain.”
James Gosling, the Head of Africa Energy Trading for Trafigura said agreement gives Trafigura access to the existing terminal for storage of refined petroleum products in order to supply the local market in a strategically important region. “We are working alongside the government to reduce sulphur limits in the local fuel specifications, to give the opportunity for Somaliland to align product specifications with regional market standards such as Ethiopia and Djibouti, which will promote cross-border trade while improving air quality in line with Trafigura’s wider ESG agenda and commitment to Africa,” Gosling said
Founded in 1993, Trafigura is one of the largest physical commodities trading groups in the world. Trafigura sources, stores, transports and delivers a range of raw materials including oil and refined products and metals and minerals to clients around the world.
The trading business is supported by industrial and financial assets, including a majority ownership of global zinc and lead producer Nyrstar which has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, Americas and Australia; a significant shareholding in global oil products storage and distribution company Puma Energy; global terminals, warehousing and logistics operator Impala Terminals; Trafigura’s Mining Group; and Galena Asset Management.
The Company is owned by around 700 of its 8,000 employees who work in 80 offices in 41 countries around the world. Trafigura has achieved substantial growth over recent years, growing revenue from USD12 billion in 2003 to USD171.5 billion in 2019. The Group has been connecting its customers to the global economy for more than two decades, growing prosperity by advancing trade
