$122bn investment drives demand for supertankers

According to analysis of project data carried out by Dubai-based research company Proleads, the six GCC countries, flush with cash from years of high oil prices, are investing vast sums in new refinery projects to meet rising demand and tighter specifications for products.

These projects are valued at more than $122 billion, $80 billion of which are in Saudi Arabia and due for completion before 2013. This investment has resulted in a boom in orders for new supertankers, and chemical product carriers, in particular.

"These are staggering figures. Once completed, these GCC projects alone will have total capacity to produce the equivalent of six million barrels a day of petrochemicals," said Chris Hayman, Chairman and Managing Director of Seatrade, organiser of Middle East Money & Ships.

Delivering the keynote at the Middle East Money & Ships conference will be General Sharafuddin Sharaf, President of the United Arab Emirates Ship Owners Association and Vice Chairman of the Sharaf Group. He will be addressing the scope of the shipping business in the UAE, in terms of volume and scale, and its contribution to the UAE economy.

Other key industry figures speaking at the event include: Mohammad Souri, Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company; Ahmed Hareb Al Falahi, CEO of Gulf Energy Maritime of the UAE; and Saleh Al Shamekh, President - Oil and Gas, of the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia.

Underscoring the surge in shipbuilding orders, an International Financial Services (London) maritime services report, recently estimated the world shipping loan book had grown by over a third, from $200 billion in 2005 to $275 billion in 2007.

BRS, an independent broker in the international market and a participant at Money & Ships, estimates 184 supertankers are currently on order worldwide for delivery between now and 2012. 'Supertankers', in this case, refers to ships of 200,000 tonnes or over and capable of transporting two to three million barrels of oil. Put into perspective, the combined oil consumption of Spain and the UK is about 3.2 million barrels of oil a day

The global order book is even greater for petrochemical product and chemical tankers, with a staggering 1,560 such vessels due for delivery between now and 2012, say BRS.

Middle East Money & Ships has the support of high profile maritime businesses in the region and beyond. Principal sponsors are the National Iranian Tanker Company, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and TJ Shipping. Other sponsors include Dubai Maritime City; Drydocks World; Emarat Maritime; Fichte & Co; IRISL Group; Lloyd's Register and Transworld. The conference is endorsed and supported by DP World and the UAE Ship Owners Association.