Ivory Coast fuel storage company GESTOCI has awarded a provisional contract worth up to USD 400 million to two Saudi companies.

Global Trading Group and pipeline contractor Faysal M Qahtani Sons (FMQ) will help finance and build the projects, which include the rebuilding of a 60,000CUM unit in the central town of Bouake and a new unit at the port of San Pedro. GESTOCI plans to double its capacity for storing petroleum products to 680,00CUM, and plans for the new San Pedro unit to have a capacity of 250,000CUM. The major export hub at which the new San Pedro unit is scheduled to be completed within two years handles about half of the cocoa shipped from the world's top producer.

Gestocci stores fuel for a number of energy companies from the United States, Europe and Nigeria and serves six oil importing countries in the region.