UAE-based Gulf Petrochem said it has started building the first phase of a new 1.2 million cubic metres oil storage terminal at Fujairah port.

The first phase, which is to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2012, would have a storage capacity of 412,000 cubic metres, the firm said in an emailed statement.

'Subsequent phases will take the full capacity to 1.2 million cbm (cubic metres),' it added.

In June, Petrochem had awarded a $45 million contract for the first phase to Nico H ydrospace, a subsidiary of Topaz Energy and Marine, it said in a separate email. Topaz is a subsidiary of Oman's Renaissance Services.

Petrochem has an oil terminal with 14 tanks with a total capacity of 35,000 cubic metres at Hamriyah Free Zone, in Sharjah.-Reuters