RECENT NEWS

A new episode of Terminals Talk is out now featuring Mark Waddington discussing how shifts in global trade are affecting the UK and Europe storage sectors! 

Mark Waddington recently chaired the  '4th Annual Biofuels Forum' in Berlin, Germany organised by InventU.

Topics covered included:

• The conversion potentials towards biofuels
• Strategies and implementation of revised Renewable Energy Directive II
• Driving technologies
• High-blend biofuels and low-carbon fuels – standardisation and potentials
• Improving traceability and knowledge-based decisions with fuel stability
• The enhancement of investment liquidity in the market
• Stepping into the spotlight on the path to Net Zero

Storage Terminals Magazine includes Channoil’s CEO, Mark Waddington amongst the top 100 Tank Storage Influencers 2023.

This prestigious list includes influential decision makers from leading terminal companies and consultancy firms.

(March 2023)

Channoil Energy is sad to report that our CEO Dermot Campbell passed away peacefully on 15 March 2023, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He will be sorely missed. Dermot had been with the company for 12 years and was instrumental in opening up Africa to the company.

We send our deepest condolences to his family.

Mark Waddington will take over as CEO with immediate effect. 

(March 2023)

'What to look for in the Storage Sector in 2023'

Mark Waddington spoke at StockExpo in Rotterdam.  His talk included the following issues:

• Russia/Ukraine conflict: long term impact on the storage market 

• Supply & demand forecast for key biofuels 

• The current storage landscape in key regions: Asia, Middle East, and the US 

(September 2022)

'Options for the Storage Industry - post 2050 review'

An article written by Charles Daly exploring future options for the oil storage sector as it looks ahead to 2050 and beyond.

Based on the current theory, that the life of the fossil fuel industry is less than 30 years or so, to take us beyond the current 2050 target for eliminating fossil fuels from the world, then we must look at what potential alternative uses these large areas of primarily waterfront locations can be turned to. 

The current thinking is that about a third of storage terminals that are currently employed storing chemicals will continue in use. Those storing vegetable extracted oils will also continue in use but may be under capacity pressure. 

The autumn edition of TSA Insight magazine (Issue 11) published Charles' article, which can be read and downloaded here: https://tankstorage.org.uk/media-centre/insight-magazine/ 

It has also been included as a special insert in the September edition of HCB magazine.

(March 2022)

'The tragedy in the Ukraine'

An article written by Charles Daly

History of the Soviet Pipelines 

To understand the energy dynamics of today’s war in Ukraine, it is necessary to visit the history of the pipeline systems that were built during the Soviet period and within the Warsaw Pact countries. 

Firstly, most of the production of oil and gas is in Russia and very little in the other FSU countries and most of that oil production lies West of the Ural Mountains. Pipelines were built to take the crude oil to refineries in the other Warsaw pact countries.  These pipelines were named Friendship (Druzhba) pipelines.  

Channoil's Mark Waddington looks at the energy transition, demand developments and their impact on the storage sector in Europe.

The world is on a pathway to the most significant energy transition since the emergence of fossil fuels as a major global energy source. The evidence for climate change is no longer under serious dispute, the major question now, is how quickly the mitigating actions need to take place.  

There will be a repositioning in the tank storage sector and there will be localised casualties. Increasingly, investment is going to be driven by the requirements to be sustainable and green.

See the full article published in Tank Storage Magazine's Feb/March 2022 issue.

Energy transition, carbon footprint, alternative fuels, renewable energy, mobility/transportation solutions 

Our new Net-Zero-Solution division has focussed initially on key areas:

Biofuels - with projects completed for an ethanol plant investment, a renewable market entry study, a global renewable diesel study and a market study to support a potential investment in incremental ethanol storage capacity. 

LPG - as a transitional fuel in the developing world with major carbon, health and environmental benefits over charcoal and wood. This will be fundamental given the COP26 drive on reversing deforestation by 2030 and over 1 billion people world-wide still cooking on wood or charcoal. 

Recent projects include a market study for an African LPG terminal expansion, a commercial market entry into a Caribbean country, input into the 2021 Kenya masterplan mapping out the steps required to increase LPG threefold over the next 20 years, LPG and Autogas country pricing policy study and a commercial market study for refrigerated LPG terminal in a northern European country.

Major Oil Refiner. The major oil company suffered part damage and disruption of its supply logistics from two cargoes of crude oil which arrived with a high concentration of organic chlorides.

Channoil was asked to carry out a study of the damage caused and the financial costs associated with the shutdown of the particular units and the consequences arising therefrom.

We were able to bring a pragmatic, knowledge based, analysis to bear on the cases that were subsequently amicably settled by the supplier giving a sizeable discount to the value of the cargoes.

Breach of contract – non delivery of petroleum supplies. There have been a number of cases of breach of contact during the Covid-19 pandemic. The reasons are manifest, but most relate to disincentives due to price volatility. 

Biofuels – We have also been able to advise clients in cases where oil seeds were the main cargo in a breach of contract case. However, the seeds were destined to be crushed to manufacture bio diesel. We were able to advise clients of process and procedure in filing a claim under the FOFSA contract terms and to finding lawyers to act for them. The cases we advised on were settled without recourse to Arbitration, to both party’s satisfaction.

A Taxation Authority needed advice as to how to set a formula for rebating liquids returned from Vapour Recovery Units (VRU) and returned to stock, having already paid excise. We were able to benchmark best practise and derive a formula that would work for both the revenue and the oil companies affected.

Dec 2021

See the winter edition of Tank Storage Association (TSA) Insight magazine for an article by Charles Daly and Martyn Lyons on 'Oil Terminals in transition as net zero approaches'.

'Campaigns, initiatives and much lobbying and political debate continue to gather pace regarding energy transition, decarbonisation and reductions in greenhouse emissions'...

Above: Vincent Couffon addresses President Danilo Medina and Government Ministers     Photo credit: Presidencia

Channoil’s Vincent Couffon and Mark Waddington are part of a team advising President Danilo Medina and Ministers from the Dominican Republic Government.  The Government has commissioned a diagnostic study on the pricing of fuels. Vincent and Mark were in Santo Domingo in January for a strategy meeting in the President’s office. Further details appear in this article printed in the Diario Libre newspaper on 22 January