Port of Rotterdam posts 5% growth in throughput in 2015 due to oil trade

Goods throughput in Rotterdam increased 4.9% to 466.4 million tonnes in 2015, which is almost entirely attributable to the increased throughput of crude oil and oil products.

“Low oil prices result in high margins for the refineries, so they have large quantities of oil shipped in for refining. This not only applies to the refineries in Europe but also to those in Russia. The latter produce a relatively large amount of fuel oil which is shipped to the Far East via Rotterdam. The result is an 8% increase in the throughput of crude oil and an 18% increase in the throughput of oil products,” said Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

Although this year the port owes its growth to oil, according to Castelein the port is in a transition phase.

“Due to the need to combat climate change, the port is fully committed to energy efficiency as well as the development of renewable energy and bio-based chemistry. Rotterdam already has one of the most energy efficient refining and chemicals clusters and the largest bio-based cluster in the world. It is our ambition to retain our leading position.”

When it comes to throughput in 2016, the Port Authority aims to match the port’s strong performance in 2015.