GP Global (formerly Gulf Petrochem Group) has announced the expansion and strengthening of its global bunkering operations with 12 strategic appointments to senior roles across its key international offices.
 
The new appointments cover GP Global’s offices in Geneva, Switzerland; London and Hull, UK; Sharjah and Dubai in the UAE; Mumbai, India and Singapore, said a statement.

David Matthews, bunker trader, West of Suez, London, UK; Steven Taylor, lead – physical supply, West of Suez, Hull, UK; Susan Needham, trading operator – physical supply, West of Suez, Hull, UK; Amit Dingwani, lead oil trading operator – GCC, Sharjah, UAE; Christopher Morgan, lead – bunker credit management, Global UAE and Rotterdam; Thanasis Baxevanis, trading manager – Marine Lubricants, GCC, UAE; Eric Toh, bunker trader, APAC, Singapore; Suman Chatterjee, lead – industrial sales, Mumbai, India; Ankita Batra, bunker trader, GP Global Energy, Mumbai, India; Basile Collenberg, junior bunker trader, West of Suez, Geneva, Switzerland; Sumesh Ramadasan, bunker trader, West of Suez, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Nishmith Chowta, bunker trader, West of Suez, Singapore, it said.

Prerit Goel, group director at GP Global, said: “Following the recent re-branding of the group, our efforts are now focused on consolidating our business across all key international markets and these appointments of experienced professionals is the next step in making this happen.”

“Our bunkering division has witnessed exponential growth over the past year as a result of our expanded footprint in the ARA and APAC market with other global offices. We believe that investing in the right talent is the key driver to ensuring our organisation’s continued progress. They bring a wealth of expertise in the bunkering business that will accelerate our growth as a global organisation, helping to add even better value for our customers,” he said.

“The knowledge and skills that the new team members bring is an asset to our company that will enable us to gain significant industry leadership by assuring our customers with strong market insights,” he added.

Goel continued: “The bunker market is something we feel has a lot of challenges short, mid and long-term but equally these present a fascinating opportunity for those able to add genuine value throughout the supply chain as GP Global is always looking to do.”

“The upcoming IMO 2020 restrictions on burning high sulphur marine fuels will radically alter the landscape in bunkering, not just for supplying and trading the product but for credit, technical and compliance as well. We are very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds in store and are very confident that the team we have built and are continuing to augment will go from strength to strength. It is a very exciting time,” he said.

The raft of new executive appointments across the globe by GP Global reflects the success the company has experienced across all business units, including the bunkering sector, in the face of the challenging global economic climate. 

Chris Todd, head of bunkering, West of Suez at GP Global, said: “The month of October will see us increase our bunker barge fleet to capitalise on opportunities we see in the ARA market. With this in mind our recent hires, who are well versed and experienced in the ARA market allows us to competently handle the increase in volumes we expect to see.”

“Further, as the group continues to perform well it’s only natural we continue to add talented individuals to our team,” he said.

Anil Keswani, head of bunkering, East of Suez at GP Global, added: “As far as our East of Suez business is concerned, our physical location in Fujairah has grown from one barge to three.”

“We will add one more barge to our fleet by the end of this year. Apart from our physical supply, we have grown our back to back to sales and are exploring the marine lubricants sector too,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service