ST. LOUIS — Bunge Ltd., through its Bunge Loders Croklaan joint venture with IOI Corporation Berhad, has entered an agreement to acquire a newly constructed, port-based refinery from Fuji Oil New Orleans, LLC. The refinery is located in IMTT’s (International-Matex Tank Terminals) Avondale Terminal, Louisiana.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

According to Bunge, the facility has multi-oil refining capabilities and will enable the St. Louis-based company to expand its existing customer base. It also will provide Bunge with “a scalable, complementary port-based footprint capable of connecting North American food, feed and fuel customers to global markets,” the company said.

Bunge expects to serve customers with the newly acquired capacity starting in the second quarter 2023. Moving forward, Bunge said it plans to significantly expand the facility’s current capacity, creating new jobs.

“This acquisition delivers on our long-term strategy to expand our value-added oils business by accelerating reach across North America,” said Aaron Buettner, president of Food Solutions at Bunge. “This facility will connect with our existing footprint and enable Bunge to better serve our customers.”

Brett Caplice, vice president of refined and specialty oils in North America at Bunge, added, “We are excited for the opportunity to continue to expand and grow, working alongside great local partners such as IMTT, who Bunge has had an 80-year partnership with storing and shipping vegetable oils in the Gulf.”