Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Announces Strategic Alliance with China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co. Ltd.

PIRAEUS, Greece, April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW) today announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a strategic alliance with China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co. Ltd. (CCBC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise jointly owned by SINOPEC Sales Co., Ltd. and SINOTRANS & CSC. CCBC is one of China's five state-certificated bonded bunker suppliers and among the largest bunker supply companies in China. The strategic partnership, which is expected to become effective during the second quarter of 2012 upon completion of final documentation, will enable Aegean to meet the marine fuel needs of its customers in mainland China.

Under the terms of the agreement, CCBC will utilize its position as one of China's largest bunkering companies to provide comprehensive marine fuel services on behalf of Aegean's customers in strategic ports, including all Changjiang River ports and certain coastal ports such as Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Taizhou, Changzhou, Jiangyin, Nantong, Changshu, Zhangjiagang, Taiccang, Shanghai (excluding Yangshan), Ningbo, Tianjin, Qingdao (scheduled to open by the end of 2012), Dalian, and others. Aegean will be responsible for the supply and delivery of marine fuels to CCBC's customers in Aegean's network currently covering 19 countries throughout North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Dimitris Melisanidis, Head of Corporate Development at Aegean, commented, "Our strategic alliance with CCBC provides important strategic benefits for our Company. First, we are extending our global reach to mainland China, enabling Aegean to establish an initial footprint in some of the world's largest ports. Second, Aegean is expanding its global scale in a prudent, cost-effective manner by partnering with one of China's largest physical suppliers of bonded bunker fuels. And third, this alliance will further strengthen Aegean's ability to meet the needs of its customers that operate on a worldwide basis. We look forward to working closely with CCBC and building a mutually beneficial relationship over the long term."

Jinghan Yao, a Member of the Board and General Manager of CCBC, stated, "We are pleased to form a strategic alliance with Aegean Marine Petroleum Network. The Company's bunkering network throughout the world provides a good choice for us to offer integrated marine fuel services to customers outside the Chinese market. By combining our efforts with Aegean to deliver innovative customer solutions, we are confident our partnership will provide significant long-term value for both companies. The specific operation of the program will be defined in the cooperation agreements to be signed by the two parties in the future."

About Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. is an international marine fuel logistics company that markets and physically supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to ships in port and at sea. The Company procures product from various sources (such as refineries, oil producers, and traders) and resells it to a diverse group of customers across all major commercial shipping sectors and leading cruise lines. Currently, Aegean has a global presence in 19 markets, including Vancouver, Montreal, Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, West Africa, Gibraltar, U.K., Northern Europe, Piraeus, Patras, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Morocco, the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA) region, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Cape Verde and Panama. To learn more about Aegean, visit http://www.ampni.com/.

About China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co. Ltd.
China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co. Ltd. (CCBC) is a large fuel oil sales company jointly owned by SINOPEC Sales Co., Ltd. and SINOTRANS & CSC (a merging corporation of China National Foreign Trade Transportation Group and China Changjiang National Shipping Group Corporation). It is one of the top 10 foreign trade companies in Hubei Province, China.

The business scope of CCBC covers the supply, sale, trade, transportation and storage of marine fuels and marine lubricants. CCBC has 88 overwater gas stations along the Changjiang River, more than 230 well-equipped bunker barges and one exclusive railway line. Its total storage capacity is approximately 500,000 cubic meters.

CCBC is headquartered in Wuhan, and its 20 branches spread along the main routes of the Changjiang River and extend to coastal areas with locations in Chongqing, Wanzhou, Yichang, Jingzhou, Yueyang, Wuhan, Huangshi, Jiujiang, Anqing, Wuhu, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Dalian, Tianjing and Qingdao. An Oil Transportation branch is located in Wuhan. For more information, please visit CCBC's website at http://www.ccbc.net.cn/. 

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements.  The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business.  Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include our ability to manage growth, our ability to maintain our business in light of our proposed business and location expansion, our ability to obtain double hull secondhand bunkering tankers, the outcome of legal, tax or regulatory proceedings to which we may become a party, adverse conditions in the shipping or the marine fuel supply industries, our ability to retain our key suppliers and key customers, material disruptions in the availability or supply of crude oil or refined petroleum products, changes in the market price of petroleum, including the volatility of spot pricing, increased levels of competition, compliance or lack of compliance with various environmental and other applicable laws and regulations, our ability to collect accounts receivable, changes in the political, economic or regulatory conditions in the markets in which we operate, and the world in general, our failure to hedge certain financial risks associated with our business, our ability to maintain our current tax treatments and our failure to comply with restrictions in our credit agreements and other factors.  Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

SOURCE Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.