Houston-Based Oil Storage Company Adds Tankage to Meet Customer Demands

HOUSTON (July, 2006) - Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company (HFOTCO), a major Houston-based provider of oil blending, storage and shipping for electric utilities, carbon black manufacturers, refineries, traders, and bunker suppliers, announced today their plans for building three 400,000 shell barrel internal floating roof tanks to store crude oil on the Jacintoport Boulevard property, which is located on the Houston Ship Channel. One of HFOTCO's crude oil customers will occupy the new 1.2 million barrels of tankage.

"Houston Fuel Oil is responding as quickly as possible, within construction time constraints, to the growing demand for resid and crude oil tankage in the greater Houston area," said Bill Wilson, CEO for HFOTCO. "We will remain proactive in looking for creative ways to add future resid tankage on our Jacintoport Boulevard property to meet customer needs."

Additionally, HFOTCO is building one 220,000 barrel tank and converting 850,000 barrels of storage to residual fuel oil use. Combined, this will give HFOTCO the capacity for more than one million barrels of new residual fuel oil storage for new and existing customers.