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Leading tank storage operator Vopak is reported to be interested in selling a minority interest in its project to develop an oil terminal facility in Eemshaven, Netherlands, according to Reuters.

Dutch firm Vopak is understood to be looking for financial partners to help finance the strategic oil terminal project, which it is designing to store strategic reserves for European governments.

The new facility is planned to be developed in phases, with the initial construction of 10 tanks of 60,000 cubic metres. This would later be expanded to 46 tanks with a total capacity of 2.76 million cubic metres.

According to market sources, the total cost of the project could be more than 600 million euros (US$745 million).

Before making a final decision regarding investment, Vopak is said to be looking for partners to join the project once in operation. This would mean that investors would not be taking on construction risk.

The project is a low throughput facility, so that product stored at the terminal is not normally moved more than once in two years. This means that it would be less profitable than high throughput facilities, where oil is transferred several times a year.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Royal Vopak announced in March that it has decided to expand its storage terminal for oil products in the port of Amsterdam, on which construction started in 2009.

Growing demand for storage, blending and transshipment services for gasoline and other light oil products were cited as the main reasons for Vopak to expand its terminal currently under construction in Amsterdam’s Westpoort industrial zone.

The 620,000 cubic meters of storage capacity provided by phase 1, which is already under construction, will be increased by a further 570,000 cubic meters.

After the phased completion of the terminal between 2011 and 2012, total storage capacity will be approximately 1.2 million cubic meters.