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Gulf Petrochem Group has announced the commissioning of the first phase of its liquid cargo storage terminal at Pipavav Port, India.

The storage terminal has an annual capacity of 250,000 kilolitres (KL), which Gulf Petrochem says will "further ease supply and availability of petroleum, non-petroleum and petrochemical cargo in the northern part of India".

The first phase has a capacity of 110,000 KL and the second phase - with a capacity of 140,000 KL - is to be commissioned by mid-March, Gulf Petrochem said in an emailed statement.

"The location of our terminal offers a strategic and logistical advantage to our customers in the North Western markets. This project stands as a stepping stone for the terminal storage sector within the Indian market, further consolidating our plans for India, future investments and further strengthening Gulf Petrochem's position as a leading player in the global oil space," commented Gulf Petrochem director Manan Goel.

Gulf Petrochem says its Pipavav facility is "a modern terminal with state-of-the-art facilities adhering to all International and Indian safety guidelines".

The terminal has a total of 46 tanks of different capacities that are to be used to store fuel oil, lube base oil, bitumen, petroleum products, chemicals, petrochemicals and vegetable oil.

The facility also has an exclusive oil berth with a draft of 12 metres for handling medium-range vessels that carry up to 40,000 tonnes of cargo.

Gulf Petrochem says its bitumen lines are fully heat traced as they are installed with two MKCal/hr boilers for heating products like bitumen and fuel oil, and maintaining the desired product temperature.

The terminal also benefits from having connectivity by road and rail. There are independent multiple bay gantries for truck loading and full rake rail siding for handling multiple products.

Gulf Petrochem confirmed that it had already begun to receive "confirmed interest from major oil companies" for tank hiring.