Minerva Bunkers Starts Physical Supply Operations Offshore West Africa

LAS PALMAS, Spain, Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva Bunkers, a global supplier and trader of marine fuels, confirmed the launch of a physical fuel supply operation in West Africa, which covers the offshore waters of the Guinea Gulf countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.

The launch will complement the company's current trading operation across the region.

Minerva Bunkers' 13,115-dwt double-hulled tanker Sea Lion I will supply customers with the full range of fuels. A second tanker of similar size is due to be launched before March 2016. Built in 2007, Sea Lion I has a pumping capacity of up to 1,000 MT/HR. The tanker will be fitted in the first quarter of 2016 with a Coriolis Mass Flow Meter to provide accuracy in the quantity of fuel supplied. The new meter will also provide additional assurances against any measurement inaccuracies caused by swelling during offshore supply.

Miguel Fernandez, Physical Supply Business Development Manager for Minerva Bunkers, commented: "We know this region very well and know what our customers need in this region – fast and accurate supply, high quality products and being able to avoid unnecessary port calls and lengthy waits. With our own vessel and control over the supply chain, we are able to provide our customers with the highest quality fuels in the most efficient and cost effective way."

Currently, Minerva Bunkers supplies the full range of high quality bunker fuels offshore West Africa, including MGO and IFO ranging from 30 to 380 cst.

Fernandez continued: "With our team's expertise in serving offshore markets worldwide, as well as an in depth knowledge of the local markets, we can deliver Minerva Bunkers trademark quality service where our customers need it. Offshore supply is time-critical and safety is of paramount importance, so it is important that our customers can be assured by the rigor and transparency that define our operations. This is exactly why we have set our own extremely high quality standards, which go over and above the industry requirements and guarantee reliability of supply."

The company uses its own global standard to ensure the quality of its products, which used in all of Minerva Bunkers' physical operations. A specification analysis on physical product orders is provided to customers. That analysis is then delivered prior to the usual testing procedures conducted by an external fuel oil analysis provider.

Minerva Bunkers is in the process of getting the certifications ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and occupational health and safety standard OHSAS 18001.

About Minerva Bunkers:
Minerva Bunkers is a global supplier of marine fuels and related services. The company is 100% owned by Mercuria Energy Trading, a leading integrated Energy and Commodity Group. Minerva's core activity is the global sale of bunkers both from its own physical inventories, now in Singapore, Houston and West Africa, with several new locations projected in the next few years, as well as worldwide intermediary trading. Minerva Bunkers also provides advanced risk management tools and services in an increasingly unpredictable oil market and volatile global economy. Its parent company, Mercuria, is one of the world's largest traders of oil cargoes.

The Group has a strong local market knowledge as a result of global network operating with counterparties in more than 50 countries, spanning Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

SOURCE Mercuria Energy Trading S.A.