Interviews with Stolthaven and with Newport
Marcelo Schmitt, General Manager,
Stolthaven Terminals Brazil
How does Stolthaven Brazil fit into your global network?
We are present in Port of Santos, which has recently become very relevant for the exports of biofuels. For that, we are preparing our terminal with an export profile. We are already exporting ethanol for industrial use, but we are now exploring opportunities in animal fat, used cooking oil, and soy oil for biodiesel production.
What does the current chemical market for terminal operators look like?
The global slowdown in demand has made it a tough year for the chemical industry. At a local level, the Brazilian government has put barriers on the importation of fuels by keeping Petrobras prices below international prices; this has made it difficult for independent traders to import diesel and gasoline, even as Petrobras runs shortages. To compensate for these import challenges, we occupied our tanks for exports, particularly of soy oil, ethanol, and animal fat.
And how are you adapting your infrastructure to accommodate more exports of feedstocks for biofuels?
There are two trenches of investment at our terminal in Brazil right now: The first is the automatization of the terminal. This modernization program involves a new control room, the application of sensors, AI to control pumps and other equipment, such as mass flowmeters, 3D scanning of our terminal. The second trench is related to preparing for more exports of vegetable oils and animal fats.
Could you tell us more about the green hydrogen corridor planned at Port of Pecém?
Stolthaven has a project to build its second terminal in Brazil at the Port of Pecém, which may be the first green ammonia terminal in Brazil. The ammonia corridor between Brazil and the Netherlands (Port of Pecém and Port of Rotterdam) is already established, so now there is a need to align all the different ammonia producers with sun and wind energy generation, then build the pipeline and shipping facilities.
Fabiano Machion, General Manager,
NewPort Tank Containers, South America
How has NewPort South America performed over the last year?
Despite massive disruptions in global supply chains and record-high shipping rates, 2022 turned out to be among the best years in Newport’s history, across all of our business lines, including chemicals, which is our largest, but also our food-grade business and LNG. We never expected 2023 to be a perfect year and we can see the change. The global supply chain is accommodating after more than two years of irregularities, while the market struggles to find supply-and-demand balance. Chemical companies are certainly not planning big investments; instead, they are trying to make precise calculations and risk assessments to establish the level of inventory required to meet demand. 2023 is a tough year, but I believe 2024 will be brighter.
Could you elaborate on the demand trends for ISOs in South America?
The South American markets have been slower, with fewer ISO imports in the region due to weaker consumption. Overall, export volumes from the region are significantly lower this year. While we noted fewer volumes going to Brazil, our largest market by far, this year, Argentina has shown tremendous resilience, with a strong export propensity. Colombia has also played a bigger role in the region over the last few years.
What is your growth strategy from here on?
With a fleet of 40,000 ISO tanks, we are in the top three largest TCOs worldwide. And we do not intend to slow down our growth. Our shareholders are ready to propel us further and make more investments in expanding our fleet in the future, and we are already investing in ISO tanks in some specific markets. We are looking ahead at huge growth potential because only by growing can we provide our services at better prices and higher standards. We will never lower that bar for growth and excellence.