Singapore independent oil storage grows and grows

The Singapore oil-supply hub handled more volume than ever last year, gaining rather than losing from expansions in refining capacity around Asia, Martin Quinlan writes

SINGAPORE’s oil-trading and storage businesses always manage to defy the sceptics. In 2010, a record volume of oil flowed through the port and – although traders complained about margins – independent storage operators saw their fees increase. The downturn in world economies in 2009 came a year after Singapore’s independent storage capacity had increased sharply, prompting forecasts of difficult times ahead. But in 2009, a large volume of new refining capacity in India, China and elsewhere in Asia came on stream, leading to increased flows of products through the regional hub. As economies perked-up in 2010, Singapore benefited from the increased demand. According to the Maritime and Port