What we do

Commodities are not always produced close to where there is demand.  Physical traders act as distributors, supplying clients and moving products around the world.  Most of the world’s oil is produced in the Middle East, whilst most of the demand is in Asia.

The balance between supply and demand in energy and commodity products can be affected by many factors. In the longer term, demand trends are driven by economic conditions, technological advances or changes in government policy.

In the short term, weather or political unrest can affect the balance between demand and supply, and leave commodities producers, processors or distributors with too much or not enough product.

In addition to long-term supply arrangements with clients – ensuring industrial clients have a steady supply of product they need to continue with the smooth day-to-day running of their operations – physical commodity trading firms seek to identify and address short-term market imbalances.

Fuel oil, which is distilled from crude oil and often left as residue during the refining process, refers to a range of the least volatile and heaviest of the commercially used fuels.

Some 10% of fuel oil produced is used to power large ships.  A further 15% is used for heating and the remainder is used by refineries as feedstock for further upgrading.

GFE is an active trader in global fuel oil markets and ships approximately 100 thousand tonnes of fuel oil every month. We use storage facilities in, Fujairah, to lift high-sulphur, sour oil from the Middle East.

Gasoline is a transparent, volatile liquid.  It is made by blending up to ten different refined products and is used mainly to power motor vehicles.

GFE trades nearly a million barrels of gasoline every month, and has at any time tens of gasoline tankers moving product internationally.

The company owns or leases storage around the world to meet the needs of refiners, state-owned oil firms and marketers in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

“Middle distillates” refers to a range of refined products situated between lighter fractions, such as LPG or gasoline, and heavier products such as fuel oil. Typically they include jet fuel, heating kerosene, and gas and diesel oils, such as marine bunker fuels. Diesel is mainly used for transportation. Heating kerosene is processed for commercial and domestic heating, whereas jet fuel is used to power the engines of commercial and military aircraft.

GFE has grown its middle distillates franchise over recent years. The company built on this legacy when in 2010 it launched North PetroTech – a subsidiary focused on the direct supply of Kerosene to Kurdistan region of Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan such as Erbil, Mosul, Kabul, and Karachi

Methanol is a highly versatile commodity for which demand is growing rapidly. Its compounds find use in both energy and petrochemical applications.

In the energy sector, the market for methanol is expanding as methanol is used in transportation fuels such as MTBE, biodiesel and gasoline blending. Through DME (dimethyl ether), methanol can be used as an LPG substitute and is replacing higher cost feedstock such as naphtha to produce olefins.

In the traditional petrochemical sector, methanol derivatives are used in a range of products from adhesives to paints and polyester.

In 2013, GFE marketed over 100 thousand tonnes of methanol globally and it continues to increase its supply position year on year to meet growing demand.

The chemicals market covers a broad sector of products drawn from fossil fuels such as crude oil, natural gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). These chemicals are used to develop polymers and numerous other organic compounds, which in turn are processed in the manufacturing of everyday goods such as adhesives, sealants and cleaning chemicals.

Our principally traded products, among them benzene and paraxylene, are employed as feedstock in the process of making plastics, resins or nylon. GFE also handles other chemical products such as styrene, toluene and xylenes.

GFE’s chemicals trading business, which distributed 200 thousand tonnes of product in 2013, is focused on shipping bulk raw materials from the Middle East to industrial customers in Europe, Asia, and Far East.

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is predominantly propane and butanes, either segregated or in various ratios and mixtures of each product. LPG is a by-product of the refinery process, transported mainly in pressurised vessels. LPG is also a by-product of crude oil production (Associated Gas) and a by-product of natural gas production (Non Associated Gas).

Associated and Non Associated LPG or NGL’s (Natural Gas Liquids) are shipped via pipeline in large quantities where possible, for example in the US, and via refrigerated VLGC’s (Very Large Gas Carriers) from, for example, the US Gulf Coast to Japan.  As well as being a fundamental building block in the petrochemical process, LPG it also a convenient fuel used globally for domestic purposes; in the northern hemisphere, LPG is used for home heating, while in Africa it is used as a cooking gas. In some markets, LPG is also used as a fuel for cars (known as Autogas).

GFE commenced trading LPG in 2010. The backbone of the business was servicing the Asian refining industry with a fleet of pressurised vessels. This business continues today, with a fleet of modern pressurised vessels working in markets such as South China Sea and Hong Kong.

Bitumen is a black or dark-colored (solid, semi-solid, viscous), amorphous, cementitious material that can be found in different forms, such us rock asphalt, natural bitumen, tar and bitumen derived from oil, which is referred to as petroleum bitumen.

Currently most of the roads globally are paved with bitumen. Today the world’s demand for bitumen accounts for more than 100 million tons per year which is approximately 700 million barrels of bitumen consumed annually.

Petroleum bitumen is typically referred to as bitumen or asphalt. In Europe for instance bitumen means the liquid binder. In North America, on the other hand the liquid binder is referred to as asphalt, or asphalt cement.

Penetration Grade Bitumen is a standard bitumen usually used as a Paving Grade Bitumen essential for road construction and for the production of asphalt pavements with superior properties, and it’s very important once it bounds the aggregates and creates a unique cohesion and stability to the bituminous mix.

This grade of Bitumen is mainly used in the manufacture of hot mix asphalt for bases and wearing courses.

Penetration Grade Bitumen supplied by GFE is petroleum grade bitumen, manufactured from fractional / vacuum distillation of crude oil. The Bitumen supplied by GFE is produced from vacuum residue (short residue) feedstock.

Penetration Grade Bitumens are specified by the penetration and softening point test. Designation is by penetration range only. The penetration grade bitumens have a thermoplastic property, which causes the material to soften at high temperatures and to harden at lower temperatures. This unique temperature/viscosity relationship is important when determining the performance parameters such as the adhesion, rheology, durability and application temperatures of bitumen.

GFE supplies all Penetration Graded Bitumen Grades including:

• Bitumen Penetration Grade 40-50
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 60-70
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 80-100
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 85-100
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 85-25
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 90-15
• Bitumen Penetration Grade 100-120

GFE Holding is one of the major suppliers and manufacturers of various grades of bitumen in Middle East since 2006 and has been established by enjoying the potentials of private sector and providing specialized services to cover different regions. During our activities, the company has been succeeding in exporting high quality Bitumen to different destinations with vast experience in this field such as China, Africa, India, Pakistan, UAE, Turkey, CIS countries, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and etc.

Having fruitful experience and keen senses in this field, our supplied products with famous brands and quality has been a spot shot of our export business.

We are always ready to take challenge and develop various advanced products to keep up with the market trend with superior quality, competitive price, prompt delivery and excellent service.

Marketing is the distribution of finished products to wholesale partners or directly to end-consumers.  It involves the careful transportation and storing of products, filtered and blended to ensure they meet the relevant local requirements and standards.