Saudi Arabia's Bahri teams up with Gasco to boost LPG distribution within kingdom

Partners will establish company to offer land transport and logistics services

From left, Soror Basalom, president of Bahri Logistics; Ahmed Ali Alsubaey, chief executive of Bahri; Abdulrahman Abdulaziz bin Sulaiman, chief executive of Gasco; and Abdulhadi Alqahtani, vice president - corporate development at Gasco. Photo: BahriShow less

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, or Bahri, a shipping and logistics company part-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, has joined forces with National Gas and Industrialisation Company (Gasco) to boost the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas within Saudi Arabia.

Under the agreement, both entities will explore co-operative means to set up a company that will offer land transport and logistics services to enhance the distribution network of LPG, Bahrai said in a statement on Tuesday.

Riyadh-headquartered Gasco, which distributes and retails LPG, is involved in the transport, filling and marketing of LPG — both butane and propane gases.

“Leveraging the expertise of both of our companies, we are delighted to begin forming a company that will provide industry-leading services and embodies operational excellence,” Soror Basalom, president of Bahri Logistics, said.

“We look forward to establishing a company that can provide great services to our clients, advance Saudi Arabia’s long-term economic growth and contribute to the objectives of Vision 2030.”

Demand for refined products is growing worldwide. LPG is used mainly as a cooking fuel stored in cylinders for stoves, as well as a propellant, refrigerant, for vehicle fuel and as feedstock for the petrochemicals industry.

PIF, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, is a major shareholder in the Bahri-Gasco agreement.

The fund holds 22.55 per cent of ownership shares within Bahri and 10.91 per cent of shares within Gasco as per the date of the agreement.

The PIF-backed Bahri owns and operates 93 vessels, serving 150 ports worldwide. AFP

Established in 1978, Bahri plays a key role in realising kingdom’s Vision 2030 by expanding its services and presence across the world, enabling the opening of trade routes and positioning the country as a regional logistics gateway from continent to continent.

With offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US and India, Bahri is one of the largest global owners and operators of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), and one of the largest owners of chemical tankers in the Middle East.

It owns and operates 93 vessels, including 42 VLCCs, 26 chemical and 10 product tankers and nine dry bulk carriers, serving 150 ports.

Last month, Bahri Logistics partnered with Mosolf Group, one of the leading system service providers for the automotive industry in Europe, to develop an automotive logistics framework initially focused on Saudi Arabia, with plans to expand across the GCC.