Please provide an overview of recent milestones at Vopak Singapore?

We are proud to be celebrating Vopak’s 40th anniversary in Singapore this year. From setting up the first independent terminal on Sebarok Island in the 1980s, to powering Singapore as a key bunkering hub, and enabling the nation's energy and chemicals industry through our terminals on Jurong Island and Penjuru, we are proud to progress alongside Singapore's economy. The energy transition is foremost in Vopak’s growth strategy, and we are a key enabler through the development of new infrastructure solutions. What are some trends in demand for Vopak’s services in Singapore?

With four terminal assets in Singapore, Vopak is well-positioned to facilitate new value chains for low-carbon fuels and sustainable feedstocks. In the short term, we make sure we migrate with the existing markets when it comes to the expected additional take-up on biofuels going into marine bunkering. We also expect that methanol bunkering will start to ramp up in the near term, and we will continue to support the industrial cluster on Jurong Island through pipeline connections.

In the medium to long term, Vopak will be playing an important role in the realization of Singapore’s National Hydrogen Strategy through the provision of key infrastructure that can support the import, handling, and distribution of all major hydrogen carriers. What are some recent challenges facing the regional chemical and petrochemical industry?

In the short term, the petrochemicals industry is facing the dual challenge of higher input costs as well as low demand primarily due to sluggish economic recovery in China. That said, throughput flows in our industrial terminals remained stable and the relative impact is limited since the majority of our revenue in industrial terminals comes from take-or-pay contracts.

The more strategic and longer-term pressure confronting the industry today is on reducing its carbon footprint. The silver lining here is that we see every stakeholder from governments to end users coming together to intensify efforts on more sustainable practices. Could you give us an overview of Singapore's first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering operations this year?

On 27 July 2023, Vopak became a proud partner in supporting the Maritime and Port Authority with Singapore’s efforts to conduct the nation’s first ship-to-ship bio-methanol bunkering operation. The bio-methanol bunkering operation started from Vopak’s Sakra industrial terminal with a bunker barge transferring bio-methanol fuel supplied by OCI Fuel to the world’s first methanol-enabled container vessel owned by Maersk.

Our team’s experience and knowledge of handling methanol helped to ensure a smooth loading process, giving our partners confidence in Vopak’s safe handling of bio-methanol. What is Vopak’s approach to sustainability?

Vopak has committed itself to reducing our CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030. To achieve this goal, we have three lines of parallel actions: First, we develop infrastructure solutions to accelerate a switch to cleaner conventional fuels and feedstocks such as LPG and LNG; Second, we develop infrastructure solutions for zero- and low-carbon new energies and sustainable feedstocks like renewable hydrogen and ammonia; Third, we reduce our own environmental and carbon footprint. In Singapore, we are using 100% green electricity through a REC (renewable energy certificate) and are implementing multiple initiatives to minimize waste and improve energy efficiency. What are Vopak’s goals for the coming year?

We will improve the performance of our portfolio, grow our base in industrial and gas terminals and we will accelerate towards new energies and sustainable feedstocks.

Vopak will grow its base in industrial and gas terminals by allocating €1 billion to these activities by 2030. We will continue to invest in the growing global gas markets and expand our network of LNG and LPG terminals at strategic locations. Vopak aims to further grow and maintain its position as a market leader in industrial terminals. Finally, with the third pillar, we will accelerate our portfolio investments towards new energies and sustainable feedstocks by allocating €1 billion in growth capital to these activities by 2030. This will not only shape the future of Vopak but also positively contribute to the energy transition within key industrial clusters and shape the energy hubs of the future. The share of zero-carbon and low-carbon energy and sustainable feedstocks at Vopak's existing locations will be increased and new infrastructure for the introduction of the vital products of the future will be developed.