Malta-headed global commodity trading house Alkagesta Holding Co Ltd (Alkagesta) has announced a new multi‑year lease agreement for biofuel storage at the Pantank facilities in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. The deal represents a significant expansion of the company’s biofuels storage footprint on the continent, adding to its already sizeable capacity.
Alkagesta has been involved in terminal operations for nearly a decade, having rapidly grown to facilitate nearly 8 million tonnes of commodity flows annually.
The company is among the largest storage operators in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean, managing close to 700,000 m3 of capacity across multiple products and geographies.
The Antwerp deal will see the company handle vessel, truck, and container movements for biofuel products, enhancing Alkagesta’s ability to manage and deliver across the supply chain.
The company’s biofuels desk, established only last year, is active in trading used cooking oil (UCO), food‑waste‑derived oils, soapstock acid oils, and biodiesel.
Enhance the product and delivery portfolio
The new Pantank biofuels storage arrangement signals the company’s ambition to significantly increase its ability to deliver a variety of fuels across the continent.
This deal will enhance Alkagesta’s ability to offer biofuels across both niche and international markets.
At a time of global volatility across commodities, and particularly fuel markets, this deal will help add to the flow of feedstock and biodiesel into Europe.
Crucially, at a time of significant market volatility, the increased capacity is also anticipated to contribute to overall liquidity in the European biofuels sector.
This deal will help Alkagesta connect smaller suppliers with inland European biodiesel markets. At a time of significant market volatility, this deal can help improve fuel flows and support producers in expanding their market reach. This will also help contribute to Europe’s increasingly stringent fuel blending standards, commented Anthony Guida, Biofuels Trader, Alkagesta.
Despite major fluctuations in Brent crude prices, biofuels remain a relatively stable part of the market.
The ability to source fuel additives from a wider variety of markets has seen the sector relatively insulated from some of the ongoing shocks taking place in the petroleum market.
The move comes after the company announced last month that it would begin supplying jet fuel to Northwest Europe through the NATO pipeline.
Despite only commencing trading in February, the company has already secured tenders to supply several airports in the region.
