Saras Group, which operates the refinery plant based in Sarroch, has asked the local coast guard for a 12-year concession for bunkering in the port of Cagliari.
The request represents a further step in the plans announced by Saras Group CEO Dario Scaffardi last November when he said the company would open a new bunkering terminal at its Sardinia plant and market a new low sulphur fuel before 2020.
Sources have revealed to Splash that Saras is now in talks with a potential partner for the physical supply services in Cagliari, and is now looking on the market for a small bunker tanker with capacity ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 dwt.
The Sarrcoh-based plant will initially produce 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes of low sulphur bunker per year.