OREANDA-NEWS. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker, the operator of Gazprom Neft's bunker business, has acquired the assets of OOO Novorosnefteservis and OOO Novorossiysk Oil Transshipment Complex to provide the storage and transshipment of the marine oil that the company sells in the Black Sea region.

The new assets, located at the port of Novorossiysk, have all of the infrastructure needed for transshipment and are designed for the storage of over 30,000 cubic meters of petroleum products at one time. The terminal's convenient geographic location will make it possible to ensure that Gazpromneft Marine Bunker operates efficiently at all Black Sea ports.

For Gazprom Neft, the creation of the company's own terminal network that consists of seven sites is one of the main goals of the company's bunkering business strategy to 2025. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker is already operating a terminal at the big port of Saint Petersburg. The purchase of the second complex will enable the company to strengthen its position on the Black Sea.

At present, three Gazpromneft Marine Bunker tankers are operating in the Black Sea region. They provide bunkerage at seaports in Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Temryuk, Taman, and Sochi, as well as at Port Kavkaz.

According to preliminary estimates, the Black Sea region market in 2013 will amount to nearly 2.5 million tons. The region has one of the fastest-growing cargo turnovers in Russia, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the total of all Russian ports.

“Gazprom Neft's updated bunker business strategy not only involves developing the company's own fleet, but creating a terminal network at key ports of the company's operations as well. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker plans in the future to expand its range of fuels and to implement a project for the bunkerage of natural gas,” said Levan Kadagidze, Director of the Gazprom Neft Commercial Directorate.