Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Announces
Expansion Plans in Barcelona, Spain
Signs Agreement to Secure Onshore Fuel Oil Storage Capacity in Port of Barcelona; Company Plans to Commence Physical Supply Operations by the End of Q1 2013
PIRAEUS, Greece, Aug. 8, 2012
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Meroil, a Barcelona-based oil and energy logistics company, which among other activities, operates the largest Spanish coastline terminal for petroleum products in the Port of Barcelona, to secure onshore fuel oil storage capacity in that terminal. In addition, the Company plans to establish a new service center and commence physical supply operations in Barcelona by the end of the first quarter of 2013.
The onshore fuel oil storage capacity secured by Aegean totals approximately 50,000 cubic meters. Complementing its access to onshore storage in the port of Barcelona, Aegean intends to provide retail bunkering services to all major shipping sectors as well as leading cruise lines, in port and at sea.
E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, commented, "We are excited to expand our global presence by establishing operations in Barcelona. This new and attractive market provides Aegean with compelling growth opportunities as we seek to increase the utilization of our large and modern delivery fleet following the completion of our newbuild program earlier this year. The port of Barcelona is ideally located in the West Mediterranean and is poised for significant growth. We intend to build market share by capitalizing on our leading reputation for providing an integrated solution for the supply and delivery of marine fuel on a worldwide basis and leveraging our extensive customer relationships. As we remain focused on expanding our geographical portfolio in a cost-effective manner and taking advantage of our scalable logistics infrastructure, we expect to further strengthen Aegean's global brand recognition and increase the Company's future earnings potential."
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. The Company has also entered into a strategic alliance to extend its global reach to China. To learn more about Aegean, visit http://www.ampni.com.
About Meroil S.A.
Meroil was founded in 1993 as an independent oil operator with the aim of supplying fuel and related products to service stations, distributors, industries and the agricultural sector. The birth of Meroil was the most important, solid and financially solvent project amongst all those that have been developed in the Spanish energy sector by independent companies since the liberalization of the oil sector in Spain.
The construction of the reception and fuel distribution Terminal in the Barcelona port in 2004 and its latest extension completed in 2012 has provided Meroil with one of the biggest terminals worldwide with a surface area of 125,000 m2 and a storage capacity of 1.000.000 m3 of fuel distributed over 45 tanks.
Meroil has a distribution network of over 200 registered service stations throughout the country.
Source: Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.