Brightoil Petroleum has secured a $4bn loan from China Development Bank to fund the acquisition of new vessels.

The company said the loan will support mergers and acquisitions, the expansion of its petroleum products trading business and the purchase of more tankers.

The fund will also be used to expand its fleet of oil tankers and storage tanks to supply fuel oil to boats.

Brightoil’s core operations include bunkering, oil storage and marine transportation and it has operations in major ports in China, Singapore, Malaysia and Rotterdam.