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an international retail petroleum news digest<br />
www.<strong>erpecnews</strong>.com<br />
LuKoIL to buy large INa stake from MoL<br />
Russian oil company LUKOIL intends to buy<br />
a large chunk of the 47.2 percent stake of<br />
Hungary’s MOL in Croatian INA to resolve<br />
a long-standing legal dispute between Serbia<br />
and Croatia. LUKOIL acquired a 79.5 percent<br />
stake in Serbian petroleum company Beopetrol<br />
for 207 million euros in 2003, paying 117<br />
million euros for the package, and pledging<br />
an 85 million euros five-year investment programme<br />
and to spend at least 5 million euros<br />
on social programmes. The other contender<br />
in the tender was Hungary’s MOL. A previously<br />
suspended lawsuit over the ownership<br />
of Beopetrol was re-launched last month in<br />
Belgrade. The lawsuit had been launched by<br />
Croatia that claimed Beopetrol – originally<br />
totaL and erG get go ahead in Italy<br />
Issue No 21 | June / July 2010<br />
<strong>erpecnews</strong><br />
euroPeaN edItIoN<br />
founded by INA – became a Serbian asset in<br />
the early 1990s at the collapse of Yugoslavia<br />
illegally. At that time Beopetrol had 167 filling<br />
stations, 11 storage units and 11 other properties<br />
that Croatia claimed rightfully belonged<br />
to INA. The company also demands US $ 93<br />
million in damages, plus interest.<br />
In 2002, Beopetrol operated almost 200 filling<br />
stations and eight tank farms with a total<br />
capacity of nearly 30 000 cubic metres. In that<br />
year, Beopetrol distributed 390 000 tonnes<br />
of automobile fuel, controlling – with more<br />
than 1 500 employees – about 20 percent of<br />
Serbia’s retail fuel market. Beopetrol’s annual<br />
turnover totalled US $ 277 million in 2002.<br />
Serbian analyst Branko Pavlovic said that<br />
while the Croatian claim is legally sound, the<br />
case could be settled in “an entirely different<br />
way”. “I suppose that LUKOIL will buy a<br />
substantial part of MOL’s INA stake and so<br />
the dispute could be resolved in-house”, he<br />
said. MOL owns 47.2 percent of INA, with<br />
the Croatian government holding almost<br />
45 percent and 8 percent is in the hands of<br />
private investors.<br />
TOTAL SA and Italian oil refiner ERG SpA have secured an EU regulatory approval for<br />
their refining and marketing joint venture in Italy. The joint venture, to be called Totalerg,<br />
will have a retail market share of nearly 13 percent with over 3 400 service stations in the<br />
euro zone’s third-largest economy, the companies have said.<br />
Industry pioneer retires<br />
from durapipe<br />
Dennis O’Dea has recently retired after a<br />
sterling term of service of over 32 years with<br />
Durapipe UK. Dennis joined the company<br />
back in 1978 as a Technical Sales Engineer<br />
following stints firstly in the Merchant Navy<br />
and working for the family engineering business.<br />
During his time at Durapipe, Dennis<br />
has been a true pioneer in developing a vast<br />
array of different polyethylene based pipework<br />
systems, including the innovative Durapipe<br />
PLX system that is now widely used across<br />
the World in both forecourt and many other<br />
industrial applications. Dennis was also responsible<br />
for the introduction of Protecta-line,<br />
a specialist pipework system to preserve water<br />
quality in contaminated ground. During his<br />
retirement, Dennis intends to spend time with<br />
his wife & family whilst further engaging his<br />
passion for motor cycles, travel & home cooking.<br />
erpec and <strong>erpecnews</strong> wishes him well.<br />
Statoil is top choice<br />
for students<br />
Statoil is at the top of the rankings in the<br />
2010 Universum student survey. Norwegian<br />
students ranked the company as number one<br />
in the fields of Technology and Economy and<br />
in the top ten for IT. The results showed a<br />
continuing history of strength, with a first<br />
place finish for the ninth year in a row in<br />
Economy adding to fourteen years as student’s<br />
first choice in Technology.<br />
<strong>erpecnews</strong> is published by McLean events in conjunction with PetrolPlaza – www.<strong>erpecnews</strong>.com
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<strong>erpecnews</strong> is published monthly by McLean Events<br />
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distributed to retail petroleum operations in Europe<br />
and the Middle East. McLean Events Europe is the<br />
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Slovenia energy group, Petrol, plans to invest<br />
428 million euros in the balkans<br />
Slovenian energy group Petrol will invest in<br />
Slovenia and Southeast European markets<br />
a total of 428 million euros by the end of<br />
2014, Petrol chairman Aleksander Svetelsek<br />
informed the press in Zagreb. He added that<br />
the group would invest 75 million euros in<br />
Croatia and employ an additional 300 people<br />
there. Svetelsek said at Petrol’s first press<br />
Shell aiming to surpass bP in Germany<br />
Shell has reached an agreement to purchase<br />
44 service stations from leading German<br />
grocer, Edeka. The acquisition would enhance<br />
Shell’s position in Germany as it looks to fend<br />
off the threat of supermarket fuel retailers,<br />
and pull ahead of its main rival, BP-owned<br />
Aral. However, in such a concentrated market,<br />
doubts remain as to whether the deal will<br />
be approved by the competition authorities<br />
Each of the service stations in question are<br />
located at Edeka’s Marktkauf supermarkets<br />
and if acquired would be re-branded and<br />
operated by Shell. Customers purchasing<br />
goods at Edeka stores with a Shell service<br />
station would be able to receive a discount<br />
of 2 percent per litre on fuel. The proposed<br />
acquisition would leave Edeka with 56 service<br />
stations, and increase the number of Shell<br />
branded sites in Germany to 2 240. However,<br />
this still wouldn’t be enough to overtake Aral<br />
which has over 2 300 branded sites. Despite<br />
Aral having the largest network, both Shell<br />
and Aral are neck and neck in terms of fuel<br />
market share, with both retailers each accounting<br />
for 23 percent of fuel sales in the<br />
country. For Edeka, the proposed sale comes<br />
as no great surprise. Edeka is increasingly<br />
focusing on its discount stores as it attempts<br />
LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
conference ever in Croatia that the group<br />
was planning to develop its retail activities<br />
through filling stations and to make it among<br />
the top three fuel retailers in Southeast<br />
Europe. According to him, the Petrol group<br />
intends to increase annual revenues each<br />
year by 10 percent. Svetelsek also announced<br />
that Petrol would start selling in Croatia on<br />
July 1st its next-generation fuels, which have<br />
been already introduced in Slovenia. Of the<br />
mentioned 428 million euros, 54 percent<br />
will be invested in fuel retail activities in<br />
Southeast Europe and 17 percent in Slovenia,<br />
while 29 percent will be invested in retail of<br />
gas and other energy products.<br />
to challenge Aldi and Lidl with its own discount<br />
grocery chains, Netto and Plus. For<br />
Shell, the deal could move the fuel retailer<br />
above Aral in Germany, in terms of fuel<br />
market share – something which is unlikely<br />
to happen simply through organic growth.<br />
The acquisition would also be positive for<br />
Shell (and other oil company branded fuel<br />
retailers in the country) as it would reduce<br />
the threat, however small, of supermarket<br />
fuel retailers in the country.<br />
On the other hand, the deal may be a blow for<br />
forecourt competition in Germany. Less than<br />
1 percent of fuel sold in Germany is through<br />
supermarket sites, although 15 percent of<br />
German motorists in a recent Datamonitor<br />
survey reported they have been increasingly<br />
using supermarkets, believing them to be<br />
cheaper. It is partly for these reasons that<br />
the deal could still be blocked by competition<br />
authorities based on concerns that Shell<br />
and Aral are too powerful. Indeed, in 2009<br />
French oil company Total was refused permission<br />
to acquire 59 sites in East Germany<br />
from Austrian oil company OMV, as the deal<br />
threatened to strengthen its position as well<br />
as market leaders Shell and Aral.<br />
topaz chooses KSS for fuel price management<br />
Topaz, Ireland’s largest fuels and convenience<br />
retailer with more than 300 sites, has selected<br />
a suite of KSS products to provide day-to-day<br />
fuel price management and optimization to<br />
its retail locations. Topaz will use PriceNet,<br />
PriceNet Mobile, PriceNet Web, KSS Visualizer<br />
and KSS Mapping solutions for a fully<br />
integrated fuel price management offering.<br />
“We selected these KSS solutions to obtain the<br />
highest level of efficiency around our execution<br />
of fuel price changes. Having a system that<br />
provides enhanced market responsiveness will<br />
enable us to improve our overall performance<br />
around fuel volume and margin”, said Frank<br />
Gleeson, Retail Director for Topaz. “We are<br />
convinced that these KSS solutions offer<br />
our stores a ‘best practices’ approach to fuel<br />
pricing. We are delighted to have Topaz as a<br />
new partner and are eager to help them to<br />
enhance their position as a global leader in<br />
convenience retailing and improve profits”,<br />
said Bob Stein.
tNK-bP acquired ukrainian retail network “vik oil”<br />
TNK-BP announces completion of a deal<br />
to acquire 100 percent of “Vik Oil” group<br />
of companies in Ukraine. “Vik Oil” owns<br />
118 fuel stations in thirteen Ukrainian<br />
regions, as well as 8 oil depots, 49 petrol<br />
tankers and 122 land plots in various<br />
stages of development. The deal totaled<br />
approximately US $ 313 million including<br />
the price of shares and debt securities of<br />
the “Vik Oil” group, as well as the cost<br />
of working capital (including oil product<br />
inventory) and a number of auxiliary assets<br />
which became part of the deal in the<br />
exxonMobil esso testing new operating mode in France<br />
Esso SAF is trialling dealer-owned or operated<br />
service stations in the western Atlantic region<br />
of France in the forthcoming months. If this<br />
pilot project proves successful, it will affect<br />
78 service stations in the region, but not its<br />
motorway stations. This is likely to be connected<br />
Sonangol could increase stake in Galp<br />
Angola’s national oil company Sonangol<br />
should bolster its stake in Portugal’s Galp<br />
Energia as part of its strategy to expand<br />
its business abroad, Angola’s Oil Minister<br />
was cited as saying last month. Angolan<br />
weekly newspaper O Pais quoted Jose<br />
Botelho de Vasconcelos as saying Sonangol,<br />
Galp and Brazil’s Petrobras were in<br />
talks to create a “strong partnership” to<br />
develop both upstream and downstream<br />
projects. Asked whether he thought Sonangol<br />
would succeed in increasing its stake<br />
in Galp, Botelho de Vasconcelos replied:<br />
acquisition of retail & Forecourt Solutions by brulines<br />
Brulines Group plc, a leading provider of real<br />
time monitoring systems and data management<br />
services for the leisure and forecourt<br />
services sectors, is pleased to announce that<br />
it has agreed to acquire Retail & Forecourt<br />
Solutions Ltd a UK market leader in fuel<br />
pump calibration, adjustment and legal<br />
verification, and also a leading provider of<br />
forecourt audit and compliance services.<br />
RFS was established in 1995 by Managing<br />
Director and Majority Shareholder Michael<br />
Hollier following a senior management career<br />
in the motorway services forecourt industry.<br />
On completion, Francis Hollier, currently<br />
RFS Technical Director, will assume the<br />
role of Managing Director of RFS, reporting<br />
to Phil Maud, Managing Director of<br />
Brulines’ Forecourt Service Division, whilst<br />
course of its realization. The deal received<br />
the approval of the Ukrainian Antimonopoly<br />
Committee. “For the ten years of its operation<br />
in the Ukrainian market TNK-BP has<br />
consistently invested in the development of<br />
its retail network. The acquisition of the<br />
“Vik Oil” group is a landmark event for our<br />
company and the deal is in line with the<br />
strategy for expansion of our business in<br />
Ukraine. We can state today that TNK-<br />
BP is present in nearly all the regions of<br />
Ukraine”, said German Khan, Executive<br />
Director of TNK-BP.<br />
with the company’s intention to move towards<br />
a dealer-owned or dealer-operated distribution<br />
model. To date, Esso SAF has not decided to<br />
extend this test to the rest of its network of<br />
service stations in France but confirmed it<br />
intends to maintain its network.<br />
“I think so as there are advantages for everyone<br />
involved.” Sonangol owns a 45 percent<br />
stake in Portugal’s Amorim Energia, which<br />
in turn holds 33 percent of Galp. The head<br />
of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, said in February<br />
there was a possibility that Sonangol<br />
could bolster its stake in Galp. Italy’s Eni<br />
has said that it would sell its 33 percent<br />
stake in Galp if it fails to gain control<br />
of the Portuguese company. There have<br />
been reports in the Portuguese media on<br />
Petrobras and Sonangol’s growing interest<br />
in Eni’s stake in Galp.<br />
Michael Hollier will act as a consultant<br />
to RFS. Brulines’ forecourt strategy aims<br />
to deliver a market leading, integrated<br />
toolbox of data management, analysis and<br />
associated products and services that allow<br />
forecourt operators to optimise return on<br />
investment from their fuel stocks and the<br />
assets designed to store, control and issue<br />
fuel. This strategy has seen the acquisition<br />
of Edensure, a wet stock management business,<br />
in October 2008, the appointment of<br />
Maud as Managing Director of the Forecourt<br />
Division in September 2009 from Morrisons<br />
Supermarkets, where he had previously been<br />
Director of Petrol Forecourts for eight years,<br />
and the acquisition of ELS Ltd the gauging<br />
systems, tank lining, LPG and forecourt<br />
services business in April 2010.<br />
LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
NewS – euroPe<br />
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NewS – euroPe<br />
eni agip gets approval<br />
to buy exxonMobil network<br />
in austria<br />
Italian oil giant Eni, which is present in<br />
Austria through Agip, has received formal<br />
approval by the European Commission to<br />
buy ExxonMobil’s downstream business in<br />
the country. The deal includes a network<br />
of 135 Esso retail service stations as well<br />
as ExxonMobil’s industrial and wholesale<br />
business with 36 additional Esso branded<br />
retail service stations owned by resellers.<br />
London will see ‘green’<br />
black cabs in time for<br />
2012 olympics<br />
Zero-emission black cabs will be on the<br />
roads in time to show London’s green credentials<br />
to the world, as people converge on<br />
the capital for the 2012 Olympics. Clean,<br />
near-silent electric motors will be used in<br />
the vehicles, which will have “fuel cell” batteries<br />
charged by converting hydrogen into<br />
electricity. The cabs will emit only water<br />
vapour. The taxis, able to travel at up to<br />
80 mph, will be capable of running for a day<br />
without refuelling. Six specialist hydrogen<br />
filling stations will be constructed around<br />
the capital. London Taxis International,<br />
Intelligent Energy and other partners are<br />
working together to produce the new cabs.<br />
Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse said: “The<br />
black cab is a London icon but it is also a<br />
source of pollution. This prototype, which<br />
emits only water from its tailpipe, is a glimpse<br />
of how hydrogen technology could soon<br />
play a vital role in cleaning up air quality.”<br />
SoCar in partnership<br />
with aP Petroleum<br />
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan<br />
( SOCAR) has drawn a foreign operator to<br />
develop its own network of filling stations<br />
in the country. SOCAR informed that the<br />
network is run by its sub-company SOCAR<br />
Petroleum, operating in alliance with foreign<br />
partner AP Petroleum. Earlier this<br />
year, SOCAR opened its first three filling<br />
stations and intends to bring the network<br />
up to 10 petrol stations by this September<br />
with its target being to double the number<br />
of stations by mid-2011.<br />
e.u. announces tighter controls on biofuels<br />
The European Commission have announced<br />
a quality-certification process for biofuels<br />
and ethanol and clarifying limits on fuels<br />
from sensitive areas like forests and partly<br />
drained peat lands. Ensuring that biofuels are<br />
a credible source of low-carbon energy that<br />
deliver greenhouse gas savings compared with<br />
fossil fuels is a key component of European<br />
Union efforts to set standards worldwide for<br />
lowering emissions over the next 10 years.<br />
Europe plans to rely on biofuels to “do most<br />
of the work” reducing emissions from cars<br />
and trucks, the commission, the executive<br />
arm of the European Union, said in a statement<br />
last month. Reducing transportation<br />
emissions was “particularly hard to achieve<br />
and reliance on imported oil is particularly<br />
high”, it said. The 27 member countries of<br />
the European Union agreed two years ago<br />
to generate 10 percent of their transportation<br />
fuel from renewable sources by 2020. A<br />
large proportion is supposed to come from<br />
biofuels. The remainder would come from<br />
other sources, like electric vehicles.<br />
But the green credentials of the policy were<br />
badly dented as energy experts issued a stream<br />
of reports suggesting that many of the biofuels<br />
on the market were causing more emissions<br />
than conventional fuels if the full emissions<br />
costs of producing the fuels were taken into<br />
account. A sudden spike in food prices at<br />
about the same time served to highlight the<br />
potentially negative effects biofuels, which<br />
some experts said were displacing food crops<br />
and making corn, wheat and soy harder to<br />
obtain for human nutritional needs. Some<br />
companies that import palm oil into Europe<br />
have already made commitments to follow<br />
sustainability guidelines under development<br />
by environmental groups and by industry<br />
groups. Mr. Oettinger’s (E.U. energy commissioner)<br />
endorsement represents a way for the<br />
commission to certify that those guidelines<br />
meet E.U. standards, and commission officials<br />
said he planned to call on companies to apply<br />
for the quality stamp before year-end. The<br />
announcement is Mr. Oettinger’s first major<br />
policy statement on renewable energy. Commission<br />
officials said the statement showed his<br />
commitment to restoring the green credentials<br />
of the fuels.<br />
Mr. Oettinger also attempted to clarify that<br />
companies must not interpret existing E.U.<br />
rules to cut down forests or sow crops on<br />
partly drained peat lands for biofuels, commission<br />
officials said. Even partly drained<br />
peat land still contains significant amounts<br />
of stored carbon, which can escape as carbon<br />
dioxide gas once the land is cultivated and<br />
contribute to climate change. But the tighter<br />
4 LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
rules on peat lands could anger countries like<br />
Indonesia and Malaysia, which are the major<br />
suppliers of palm oil used to make biodiesel<br />
for European motorists. Officials said trade<br />
experts at the commission had established<br />
that the measures would be compatible with<br />
international trade rules, partly because they<br />
would apply equally to biofuels producers<br />
growing crops inside and outside the bloc.<br />
Mr. Oettinger’s quality stamp, “Recognized<br />
by the European Union”, also could prove<br />
controversial. He still must reach a decision<br />
on how to calculate the emissions created<br />
when food crops have been displaced by<br />
fuel crops, and when areas containing high<br />
stores of carbon like grasslands, peat lands<br />
or forests are chopped down to produce the<br />
food crops elsewhere.<br />
E.U. officials said Mr. Oettinger’s stamp<br />
could include criteria on Indirect Land Use<br />
Change, in the jargon of emissions experts,<br />
once he decides on the scale of its effects at<br />
the end of this year. But experts warned that<br />
the stamp risked ending up being criticized<br />
for legitimizing unsustainable practices. A<br />
“labeling system which is not dealing with<br />
the indirect effects will not be regarded as<br />
a guarantee for sustainability”, said Jan Ros,<br />
Project Leader for bioenergy at the Netherlands<br />
Environmental Assessment Agency, a<br />
Dutch national institute for environmental<br />
research and planning. “The real challenge<br />
is to find biofuels that do not create these<br />
indirect effects like fuels from crops grown<br />
on degraded lands or fuels generated from<br />
waste products”, Mr. Ros said. E.U. officials<br />
said the stamp would be added to the labels<br />
used by sustainability programs managed<br />
by governments, civil society organizations<br />
or industry bodies that meet E.U. criteria.<br />
Although the certification would last for five<br />
years, it would also rely on annual checks<br />
done by outside auditors, but those audits<br />
would be paid for by fuel producers.<br />
Companies would also be free to decide how<br />
to display the stamp, and that could limit its<br />
use to farmers and processors. But commission<br />
officials said they were hopeful that fuel companies<br />
would also begin voluntarily displaying the<br />
label at fuel pumps, so that motorists seeking<br />
greener options would feel assured that their<br />
purchase was making a contribution to the<br />
environment. Commission officials also said<br />
they wanted to use a light touch in regulating<br />
how biofuels were labeled, so that companies<br />
achieving higher-than-average reductions in<br />
greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels,<br />
or companies applying even more ambitious<br />
sustainability criteria, could devise their own<br />
certification programs.
LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
euroPeaN NewS<br />
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KPS<br />
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LET‘S TALK BUSINESS<br />
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at www.erpec.com<br />
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Hotel Rey Juan Carlos, Business & City Resort<br />
Barcelona, 10 – 12 May 2011
Hellenic Petroleum receives support from eI bank<br />
The European Investment Bank has provided<br />
a total of 400 million euros to Hellenic<br />
Petroleum SA, for increased production of<br />
cleaner fuels through upgrading the Elefsina<br />
refinery. At the signing ceremony in Athens,<br />
EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris said:<br />
“We provide this financing to benefit both<br />
development and environment in Greece, in<br />
our capacity as the European Union’s bank.<br />
In order to counteract the impact of the crisis<br />
on the Greek and European economies,<br />
we are increasing significantly our lending.<br />
Loans for cleaner energy form an integral<br />
and important part of our extended offering.<br />
This underlines once again the key role that<br />
entrepreneurial activity plays in strengthening<br />
the structural competitiveness of the<br />
European economy. There is no doubt that<br />
this investment acts as a vital link in the<br />
innovation chain, creating employment and<br />
raising the level of job qualifications, while<br />
reducing fuel imports. This productive investment<br />
improves atmospheric conditions<br />
through state-of-the-art refining technology<br />
and increasing cleaner fuel production. We<br />
Service stations on<br />
highways in Cyprus!<br />
The government of Cyprus is looking into the<br />
prospect of creating service stations along<br />
the length of the main highway. In a letter of<br />
response to Environmental Commissioner<br />
Charalambos Theopemptou, the ministry said<br />
it was examining the possibility of building<br />
stations with toilets, resting areas, restaurants<br />
and petrol stations. As a preliminary measure,<br />
the aim is to create toilets in current weighing<br />
stations until tender procedures can<br />
be launched for private developers to build<br />
proper service stations, like those in the rest<br />
of Europe. Earlier this month a letter was<br />
sent to the ministry saying there had been<br />
complaints by tourists, who rent cars and are<br />
shocked to find there are no resting areas to<br />
use the toilet or fill up on petrol. In some cases,<br />
service station signs on the highway actually<br />
lead to private restaurants or cafeterias. The<br />
lack of proper resting areas is also a problem<br />
for professional drivers, who are often on the<br />
roads for hours on end.<br />
oPw achieves ISo certi -<br />
fication in Czech rep<br />
Shell improves business intelligence with SaP<br />
Shell has implemented a new analysis and<br />
reporting platform for its global operation. As<br />
reported, Shell has gone live with a set of SAP<br />
Business Objects Business Intelligence tools<br />
which are already used by 3 500 employees.<br />
Implementation partner is Accenture. By September,<br />
the new platform is planned to have<br />
are pleased to have Hellenic Petroleum, one<br />
of the most important players in SE Europe<br />
as a partner in this effort.”<br />
Mr. Tassos Giannitsis, Hellenic Petroleum’s<br />
Chairman commented: “We are very pleased<br />
to be partners with the European Investment<br />
Bank in the cornerstone of our investment<br />
program, the upgrade of our Elefsina refinery.<br />
This 1.2 billion euros investment, the largest<br />
industrial investment ever in Greece improves<br />
competitiveness, creates new employment,<br />
produces better and environmentally friendlier<br />
products, reduces imports and increases exports<br />
and importantly improves the environmental<br />
performance of the refinery by substantially<br />
reducing all emissions. Project implementation<br />
is on track with completion expected in<br />
the second half of next year. In very difficult<br />
times for our country, Hellenic Petroleum is<br />
committed to implementing its strategy for<br />
growth and competitiveness which involves<br />
a major investment program of over 2 billion<br />
euros in 2009-11 focused on our refining and<br />
marketing businesses and a major performance<br />
improvement initiative.”<br />
OPW Fueling Components EMEA has<br />
achieve ISO 14001:2004 certification for<br />
expanded Czech Republic manufacturing<br />
plant. Formerly known as OPW Fueling<br />
Components Europe, the company has announced<br />
it has achieved ISO 14001:2004<br />
certification for its manufacturing plant in<br />
the Czech Republic, while also having its<br />
ISO 9001:2008 certificate renewed. ISO<br />
14001:2004 is awarded to companies that<br />
meet ISO-established guidelines for energymanagement<br />
systems at their plants. To<br />
achieve ISO 14001:2001 certification, OPW<br />
had to present to ISO a framework for a<br />
holistic, strategic approach to environmental<br />
policy, plans and actions as they would apply<br />
to the Czech Republic facility. OPW also<br />
had to show a commitment to comply with<br />
applicable environmental legislation and<br />
regulations, along with making a commitment<br />
to continual improvement in its energy<br />
systems at the Klasterec plant.<br />
a total of 6 500 users. Shell wants to get rid<br />
of reports delivered in Excel and PowerPoint<br />
completely and standardise its data deployment<br />
globally. The mineral oil company uses the<br />
Business Objects applications Crystal Reports,<br />
Web Intelligence, Xcelsius Enterprise on the<br />
base of SAP’s middleware Netweaver.<br />
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NewS – euroPe<br />
Greece taken to court<br />
The European Commission decided, on<br />
5 May, to refer Greece to the EU Court<br />
of Justice over its rules restricting the<br />
establishment of petrol stations. Greek<br />
legislation prohibits the establishment of<br />
petrol stations near certain public places,<br />
such as shops or residences, while allowing<br />
it near others, such as offices and hotels,<br />
thereby limiting competition and choice for<br />
consumers. It imposes minimum distances<br />
between a new petrol station and an existing<br />
one, therefore limiting the entry of new<br />
operators. The authorisation procedure for<br />
petrol stations requires the applicant to<br />
provide a fire certificate that can be issued<br />
only by ‘certified’ Greek expert engineers.<br />
The Commission sent a reasoned opinion<br />
to Greece, in June 2009, asking it to comply<br />
with EU law. As no satisfactory reply was<br />
received, the executive has decided to take<br />
the case to the court.<br />
Petrotec wins ‘best<br />
Innovation award’<br />
World leader in digital security, Gemalto<br />
is a business partner of Petrotec, offering<br />
solutions designed to make personal<br />
interactions more convenient, secure and<br />
enjoyable. Its portfolio ranges from the development<br />
of POS Terminals and software<br />
applications to the design and production<br />
of secure personal devices such as smart<br />
cards, SIM Cards, e-passports and tokens.<br />
Says Petrotec, a key reason for winning the<br />
award was the incorporation of the Gemalto<br />
Magic³X-8 terminal, as an integral part of<br />
Petrotec Microsys, a management solution<br />
for petrol stations. Microsys is the first<br />
fully integrated global system which allows<br />
the management of IFSF fuel dispensing<br />
pumps and EMV / PCI payment methods,<br />
housed in a single terminal that fits in the<br />
hand of the operator. A solution that drew<br />
fulsome praise in Carte 2009, the largest<br />
showcase of technology held in France, in<br />
late 2009. The new generation of Magic³<br />
POS terminals was also honoured as the<br />
choice of the largest Portuguese bank for a<br />
recent contract to supply about 3 000 units.<br />
waitrose in bahrain<br />
UK supermarket group, Waitrose has<br />
announced it will be opening a new store<br />
in Bahrain after it saw strong sales at its<br />
first Middle East venture in Dubai. The<br />
food store, which is part of the John Lewis<br />
Partnership, said it saw an increase of<br />
60 percent in sales on last year at its two<br />
Dubai branches, which opened in 2008.<br />
7
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KP gas stations in<br />
Pakistan refuse to<br />
make weekly closure<br />
The All Pakistan CNG Association, Khyber-<br />
Pakhtukhwa chapter, has declined to<br />
close outlets for one day in a week, agreed<br />
with the government a couple of months<br />
ago. Addressing a press conference at the<br />
press club, the chairman of the association,<br />
Fayyaz Khan Mohammadzai, claimed that<br />
the Peshawar High Court had granted<br />
them relief on their petition against gas<br />
outages. “The decision of the high court<br />
has been handed over to the Sui Northern<br />
Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL)”, he said.<br />
However, after getting legal cover from the<br />
court they would not tolerate harassment<br />
of filling station owners. “In the face of the<br />
court’s relief, forcing the CNG stations to<br />
observe gas holiday will be sheer injustice”,<br />
he added. Elaborating, he said 350 million<br />
cubic feet (mmcf) of gas is produced<br />
in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa compared to its<br />
demand of 150 mmcf while only 20 mmcf<br />
is consumed by CNG stations.<br />
Privatized petrol sites<br />
in burma to open<br />
Some 250 petrol stations in Burma earmarked<br />
for privatization in January as<br />
part of a grand economic reshuffle by the<br />
government are to open next weekend.<br />
The stations are scattered throughout<br />
the country, with around 50 in Rangoon<br />
division, 40 in Mandalay division, 37 in<br />
Bago division, 27 in Irrawaddy division<br />
and 25 in Shan state. “It is a two-sided<br />
story: one side is that the government<br />
has monopolized the sector for a long<br />
time, since the military coup in 1962, so<br />
it is the government losing its monopoly”,<br />
said Burmese Economic Analyst, Aung<br />
Thu Nyein. “But at the same time the assets<br />
were only transferred to the cronies.<br />
I think there are less than ten companies<br />
who got licenses to run gas stations; some<br />
were transferred to agri-businesses and<br />
construction companies”, he added. The<br />
likely owners of the stations are suspected<br />
to be the Htoo Group, Asia World and the<br />
Eden Group, all of whom have close ties to<br />
the ruling junta. Burma is heavily reliant<br />
upon imported fuel as a result of a lack of<br />
refining capabilities in the country. The<br />
current privatization initiative is part of<br />
a move towards free trade of petroleum<br />
products, which has been overseen by<br />
the newly formed Fuel Oil Importers and<br />
Distributors Association (FOIDA).<br />
Mobil oil australia confirms agreement to sell<br />
retail fuels business to 7-eleven<br />
Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of<br />
ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd., confirmed it<br />
signed an agreement to sell its retail gas business<br />
to 7-Eleven Australia, less than a month<br />
after Caltex Australia Ltd. said it wouldn’t<br />
proceed with its offer for Mobil’s stations after<br />
competition regulators blocked its bid. The sale<br />
to 7-Eleven, for an undisclosed sum, includes<br />
295 company-owned or leased stations that<br />
are primarily located in metropolitan areas<br />
in east Australia. Caltex’s roughly A $ 300<br />
million offer was for 302 of Mobil’s stations<br />
al Maha plans 41 souks by year-end in oman<br />
Al Maha Petroleum Products Marketing Co<br />
in cooperation with Al Fair, is currently in the<br />
process of opening many retail shops at various<br />
Al Maha filling stations. The company is<br />
projecting to open 41 shops by the end of the<br />
current year, and most of these shops will be<br />
opened for 24 hours. These shops will provide<br />
job opportunities for many nationals who<br />
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but was knocked back because the Australian<br />
Competition and Consumer Commission<br />
was concerned the acquisition could result in<br />
reduced competition at individual stations.<br />
“We are pleased to have been able to reach<br />
agreement for the sale of our retail business<br />
to 7-Eleven”, said Mobil’s Fuels Director Kim<br />
MacMillan. “The Australian retail fuels market<br />
is highly competitive and challenging. Mobil<br />
is now a relatively small participant in that<br />
sector of the market following the extensive<br />
rationalization of its company-owned service<br />
station network over the last few years. We<br />
continue to be a major fuel wholesaler to the<br />
commercial and industrial sectors of the market,<br />
including aviation, regional distributors and<br />
other independent resellers.” The deal with<br />
7-Eleven does not include any other part of<br />
ExxonMobil Australia’s operations. Similarly,<br />
Caltex’s offer didn’t include refining assets.<br />
are ready to grab them. Ahmad Al Shanfari<br />
Director General, Marketing and Operations<br />
in Al Maha, said that there was an agreement<br />
with Al Fair Co signed on 18th October 2009,<br />
where the latter should start the inauguration<br />
and operating the new retail shops and also<br />
reopening the existing ones to the customers<br />
with a new look.<br />
Gail asked not to set up filling stations<br />
Gail Gas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s<br />
largest gas transmission and marketing<br />
company Gail India. Gail incorporated it in<br />
2008 for implementation of city gas distribution<br />
projects. City gas projects involve fuel supply<br />
to automobile, industries and households. The<br />
restraining order is limited to particular locations<br />
in a city for which the company does not<br />
have specific approval by the regulator, the<br />
official said. PNGRB secretary confirmed the<br />
development. “In geographic areas where the<br />
company has been authorised by the Board<br />
for setting up CGD networks, no further<br />
permission from the Board is required to<br />
set up CNG stations”, he clarified. Specific<br />
details of alleged unauthorised locations in<br />
these cities could not be ascertained. As per<br />
Gail Gas officials, setting up CNG stations<br />
on the highways is the real bone of contention.<br />
Gail Gas is already implementing projects in<br />
four cities as they do not require any specific<br />
permission from the regulator, a company official<br />
said. “We have authorisation for the CGD<br />
networks, so we do not need permission for<br />
specific connections”, he said. The regulator<br />
had authorised Gail Gas to implement CGD<br />
projects in four cities – Dewas, Kota, Merrut<br />
and Sonipat – in March 2009. Gail is yet to<br />
get authorisation for the rest of the cities. In<br />
March this year, Gail Gas had invited bids from<br />
land-owners in seven cities to set up CNG<br />
stations at various locations. The last date<br />
for submission of bids was 24th April 2010.<br />
State-owned Gail India is a major vehicle of<br />
the oil ministry to connect households of 201<br />
cities with piped natural gas (PNG) connections<br />
by 2015. Minister of state for petroleum<br />
Jitin Prasada has also assured Lok Sabha that<br />
clean fuel will be available to over 200 cities<br />
in the next five years. The ministry is certain<br />
about meeting the target after production of<br />
gas from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6.
Ghana oil completes 50 years of operation<br />
GOIL Ghana Limited turned 50 last Monday,<br />
having been incorporated as a private<br />
limited liability company, AGIP Ghana<br />
Company Limited back in 14th June 1960,<br />
with the objective of marketing petroleum<br />
and related products, particularly fuels,<br />
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lubricants,<br />
bitumen and other specialty products in<br />
Ghana. Even though the golden jubilee<br />
date passed without ceremony, an analyst<br />
In South Africa, HDI Youth marketeers have<br />
evaluated the opinion of the youth market<br />
on SA’s petrol stations. Engen took top spot,<br />
with BP and Shell coming a close second<br />
and third respectively. A spokesperson for<br />
this initiative, Jessica Oosthuizen, says that<br />
“even though the more youthful element of the<br />
research group obviously do not drive cars,<br />
they are still conscious of garages because of<br />
the forecourt convenience stores, and marketers<br />
should take note that many kids are<br />
able to influence where their parents fill up.<br />
For the under 13s, the preference for Engen<br />
The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory<br />
Authority (EWURA) has closed 21 fuel stations<br />
in Arusha and Kilimanjaro region for<br />
selling substandard petroleum products. The<br />
outlets were among 49 stations inspected<br />
by EWURA in the two northern regions in<br />
recent weeks. EWURA informed in a statement<br />
that Meru 3 Petrol Station operated by<br />
Mount Meru Petroleum Limited in Arusha<br />
and Vijana Petrol Station operated by Loden<br />
Petroleum Industrial Supplies in Kilimanjaro<br />
Region would be closed for a year for repeated<br />
offences. The remaining 19 fuel stations were<br />
all first offenders, and EWURA has closed<br />
them and ordered their proprietors to pay a<br />
3 million shillings fine each after which they<br />
would be allowed to reopen after the authority<br />
gathered from sources close to management<br />
that the company is presently focused on a<br />
strategy soon to be rolled out that would give<br />
its competitors a run for their money. Shareholders<br />
at the time of incorporation of GOIL<br />
were AGIP SPA of Italy and SNAM S.P.A.<br />
On the 16th of December 1968, SNAM<br />
S.P.A. transferred its 10 percent shareholding<br />
to Hydrocarbons International Holdings<br />
of Zurich, Switzerland. In 1974, the government<br />
of Ghana acquired the shares of AGIP<br />
SPA and Hydrocarbons International Holdings<br />
in AGIP Ghana Company Limited and<br />
by a special resolution in 1976 changed the<br />
name of the Company to Ghana Oil Company<br />
Limited. By a shareholders resolution passed<br />
on 1st August 2007 the company adopted<br />
new regulations and was converted into a<br />
public company.<br />
Modern service stations stand or fall by the<br />
quality of their shops<br />
over BP and Shell is therefore not so much<br />
to do with the petrol as it is the shops. Even<br />
in the broader category of grocery stores, BP<br />
Express and Engen Quick Shops ranked a<br />
creditable ninth and 10th position. While<br />
Engen is number one among kids and teens,<br />
BP (22.9 percent) is the preferred garage<br />
brand for young adults, who by this time are<br />
driving. For 19- to 22-year-olds, Engen’s vote<br />
was 21.8 percent. However, among the 8- to<br />
13-year-olds, the preference for Engen was<br />
quite marked at 24.4 percent over closest<br />
rival BP’s 16.1 percent”.<br />
ewura closes 21 fuel stations in tansania<br />
confirms that they have gotten rid of the substandard<br />
products they were selling. EWURA<br />
public relations officer Titus Kaguo informed<br />
that 30 of the inspected fuel stations were<br />
in Arusha, while 19 were in the Kilimanjaro<br />
Region. “It was a routine inspection meant<br />
to check the quality of petroleum products<br />
sold in the two regions”, he said. The inspectors<br />
also visited two oil depots in Arusha,<br />
which were found to be conforming with the<br />
Tanzania Bureau of Standards specifications.<br />
Mr Kaguo warned petrol stations found to<br />
have violated TBS specifications for a third<br />
time would have their licences permanently<br />
revoked. He added that EWURA was being<br />
hampered by a lack of testing equipment that<br />
promptly gave test results.<br />
NewS – MIddLe eaSt, aFrICa & aSIa<br />
Shell to open more<br />
petrol stations this<br />
year in Indonesia<br />
PT Shell Indonesia, a subsidiary of oil giant<br />
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, will open five<br />
petrol stations in Jakarta and Surabaya,<br />
East Java, in the immediate future, the<br />
company’s executive has said. Shell public<br />
management Consultancy Manager Esto<br />
Sunarso informed reporters that three of<br />
the stations would be in Jakarta and the<br />
other two in Surabaya.<br />
Government fuel to be<br />
marked in Swaziland<br />
Government fuel will now be marked with<br />
a different detection solution to monitor its<br />
use so as to curb its misuse, dilution and<br />
theft for resale. The Ministry of Natural<br />
Resources and Energy is implementing a<br />
nationwide fuel marking and quality assurance<br />
project which involves marking of all<br />
fuel that legally enters the country by road<br />
or rail with a unique marker.<br />
totaL Kenya attracts<br />
interest from NoCK<br />
National Oil Corporation Kenya (NOCK) is<br />
likely to acquire some of the former Caltex<br />
fuel distribution business being sold by<br />
TOTAL Kenya. Mwendia Nyaga, Managing<br />
Director of NOCK, informed that the final<br />
decision is with TOTAL. It is understood<br />
that NOCK is bidding for 21 service stations.<br />
Other assets that the company is eyeing<br />
include the ex-Chevron plant in Mombasa,<br />
aviation facilities and filling plants. “We are<br />
bidding for selected assets. We are not aware<br />
who we are competing with”, said Nyaga.<br />
NNPC acquires 250<br />
fuel retail outlets<br />
Levi Ajuonuma, Group Public Affairs Mana -<br />
ger of Nigerian National Petroleum Commission,<br />
NNPC, said that the decision was<br />
part of NNPC’s long-term objective to ease<br />
the challenge of artificial fuel scarcity in<br />
the country adding that the decision was<br />
arrived at in collaboration with the Independent<br />
Petroleum Marketers Association<br />
of Nigeria (IPMAN).<br />
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Charity through SMS<br />
in Saudi arabia<br />
The Tas-Helat Marketing Company has<br />
partnered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia<br />
charity campaign for young kidney dialysis<br />
patients. Koenraad De Bruyne, Retail Director<br />
of Tas-Helat, explained that Tas-Helat<br />
has offered excellent marketing locations<br />
for this charity campaign on major traffic<br />
petrol stations. Posters are put strategically<br />
visible next to the entrance of our C-Store<br />
and / or on the pillar of our pump islands<br />
and the poster invites the public to send an<br />
SMS of which the value goes to the charity.<br />
Phoenix Petroleum<br />
set to list shares sold<br />
to state pension fund<br />
Listed oil retailer Phoenix Petroleum Philippines,<br />
Inc. will be listing an additional 7.5<br />
million shares to cover the sale of a 9.7 percent<br />
stake in the firm last month to the Social<br />
Security System (SSS), the government-run<br />
pension fund for private sector workers. The<br />
company said in a disclosure to the Philippine<br />
Stock Exchange the common shares<br />
were sold to the SSS at a subscription price<br />
of P5.60 per share. The total transaction<br />
value was P42 million. The company had<br />
125 stations at the end of the first quarter.<br />
bring your recyclables<br />
to adNoC<br />
Recycling centres will soon be installed at<br />
petrol stations across Abu Dhabi. ADNOC<br />
informed that bins for paper, plastics and<br />
metal waste would be installed in at least<br />
10 service stations later this year. The aim is<br />
to make the practice much more convenient<br />
for families who have complained about a<br />
lack of recycling facilities in the capital.<br />
“Petrol stations are an ideal place to have<br />
collection points”, said Craig Halgreen, the<br />
Vice President of Global Communications<br />
for Borouge, which has been working with<br />
ADNOC on the project. “It makes a lot of<br />
sense when you have a plastic producer and<br />
someone with lots of locations throughout<br />
the UAE like ADNOC team up and provide<br />
a point of collection and also segregation.”<br />
totaL uganda and MtN enter partnership<br />
TOTAL Uganda and MTN, Uganda’s biggest<br />
telecommunications firm with 6 million<br />
subscribers in its network, have signed an<br />
enhanced partnership which will place<br />
MTN’s products and services in more than<br />
129 TOTAL petrol stations. TOTAL Uganda<br />
Managing Director, Mamadou Ngom, said<br />
the partnership would take advantage of<br />
the fuel company’s extended network fol-<br />
Fuel station tendering boosts competition in<br />
the Hong Kong fuel market<br />
Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau<br />
informed lawmakers that two new operators<br />
have obtained 24 of the 37 petrol station sites<br />
put up for tender since the introduction of<br />
new tendering arrangements in June 2003,<br />
showing the arrangements have enhanced<br />
competition in the fuel market. The share of<br />
the three biggest operators in terms of the<br />
number of petrol stations has dropped from<br />
93 percent to 74 percent. On the supply of<br />
petrol with different octane levels, Mr Yau<br />
said the Air Pollution Control (Motor Vehicle<br />
Fuel) Regulation specifies that the octane<br />
level of petrol for motor vehicles should not<br />
be lower than 95. “Using petrol with an oc-<br />
emarat launches a charity campaign and a<br />
‘No smoking day’ for women<br />
A campaign that aims to collect old clothes<br />
in 16 service stations around Dubai has been<br />
launched by Emarat. The used clothes will be<br />
then distributed to the poor and needy around<br />
the world in cooperation with an international<br />
charity establishment. Mr. Hussain Kazim,<br />
Manager Corporate Communications at<br />
Emarat, said that the Corporation endeavors<br />
to help the needy and poor everywhere and<br />
to support them in any way it can, especially<br />
in the areas where poverty prevails. As such,<br />
Emarat is very proud to launch this humane<br />
initiative that can be a helping hand to those<br />
in need. Mr. Kazim also said that the initiative<br />
was met with encouragement as was evident<br />
in the large numbers of contributions made.<br />
10 LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
lowing last year’s acquisition of Caltex. “Our<br />
objective is to offer more services to our<br />
customers at the Bonjour shops. We will<br />
have a streamlined relationship which will<br />
be fruitful to all our customers by providing<br />
an all-in-one solution”, said Ngoum.<br />
The initial range will include airtime cards<br />
and electronic vouchers. There are plans to<br />
expand the range later.<br />
tane level that fits the engine performance<br />
of vehicles can help reduce air pollution”, he<br />
added. The consultancy report on the autofuel<br />
retail market issued in 2006 explored the<br />
suggestion of supplying petrol with different<br />
octane levels. Having considered the size of<br />
petrol filling stations as well as the scale of<br />
the Hong Kong market, the report did not recommend<br />
requiring retailers to simultaneously<br />
provide petrol of two different octane levels.<br />
On the retail price of petrol, Mr Yau said it<br />
is determined by the free market. Suppliers<br />
will take a view on the types of products to be<br />
provided having regard to customer demand<br />
and other market factors.<br />
People have deposited all the clothes that they<br />
don’t need in the special containers located at<br />
the service stations. He further added that more<br />
contributions are expected as the awareness<br />
of the campaigns is being raised, especially<br />
that such initiatives help people dispose of<br />
the clothes that they do not need and allow<br />
them to participate at the same time in a<br />
humane and noble cause, in addition to the<br />
protection of the environment. Also, as part<br />
of the “World No Tobacco Day 2010” Emarat<br />
sponsored a ‘No Smoking Women’ campaign<br />
launched by Dubai Municipality. Emirates<br />
General Petroleum Corporation sponsors the<br />
awareness campaign “No Smoking Women”<br />
organized by the Dubai Municipality as<br />
participation in the “World No Tobacco Day<br />
2010”, on 31st May 2010 on which Emarat<br />
shall cease selling cigarettes and other tobacco<br />
products in its various stores and shall launch<br />
an awareness campaign in its service stations<br />
in Dubai during which all the employees<br />
at these stations will wear special T-Shirts<br />
with a massage incorporating the slogan of<br />
the campaign.
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11
FraNKLIN<br />
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emarat shares its retail experience with a delegation<br />
from adNoC<br />
A delegation from the ADNOC Distribution<br />
Company visited Emirates General Petroleum<br />
Corporation “Emarat” to observe the<br />
procedures and processes adopted by the<br />
Corporation in the fields of service stations<br />
management, in addition to the best practices<br />
followed regarding environment protection,<br />
safety, health and maintenance. Mr. Abdulla<br />
Hassan Al Noman, Manager, Retail Sales<br />
Private fuel retailers to make positive margin<br />
on sales after deregulation in India<br />
Essar Oil, Reliance Industries, Shell Petroleum<br />
and state-run Mangalore Refineries and<br />
Petrochemicals have, at present, one wish in<br />
common – making positive margins on the<br />
sale of auto fuel and to scale up their fuel<br />
retail outlets. These companies are waiting<br />
for the government to take a final decision<br />
on deregulation of fuel prices, which would<br />
not only allow them to regain their market<br />
share in fuel retailing but also help them<br />
make a gross margin of 1 000 rupees per<br />
kilolitre. At present, the gross margin on<br />
sale of every litre of auto fuel is zero. Post<br />
deregulation, it would be a rupee per litre.<br />
Net margin would be 40 paise on each litre<br />
sold. Essar Oil, which has 1 341 outlets operational,<br />
is selling petrol and diesel at 4 rupees<br />
and 2.50 rupees a litre, respectively, in all<br />
states, except Gujarat and Karnataka. The<br />
company plans to scale up its retail outlets<br />
to 1 700 by March 2011. But, if the prices are<br />
deregulated, the company says it might be<br />
able to achieve the target by this December.<br />
“We had recommended that there should be<br />
total freeing of petrol prices, while in diesel,<br />
we welcome total decontrol, in a phased manner.<br />
The outcome of the next meeting (of the<br />
empowered group of ministers) will decide<br />
the pace of our ramp-up. Private players are<br />
not in the market due to government’s fuel<br />
News from South america<br />
EnergíaPetrobras’ Argentinean subsidiary<br />
announced that it has agreed to sell 110<br />
million dollars worth of its refining and distribution<br />
assets to Oil Combustibles Energía<br />
Petrobras, a Brazilian state oil company, began<br />
its negotiations with Oil Combustibles, a<br />
part of Grupo Indalo, which includes a food<br />
production and commercialization group, was<br />
created in 2001 to offer operation services and<br />
administration for oil operations companies.<br />
According to a Petrobras executive, the board<br />
Operations at Emarat, welcomed the dele -<br />
gation, expressing that Emarat is open to<br />
cooperate and to share its experience in establishing<br />
and managing service stations, in addition<br />
to quality control systems implemented<br />
at the corporation. Emarat is committed to<br />
the highest quality standards and criteria<br />
of service, health and safety, in addition to<br />
environment protection.<br />
pricing policy. A level playing field will help<br />
firm up their market presence”, said an Essar<br />
Oil official. It has two percent market share<br />
in the retail fuel segment. Analysts say the<br />
proposed price deregulation of auto fuels, if<br />
implemented, would be positive for Reliance<br />
and Essar. “Fuel price deregulation could lead<br />
to nil under-recoveries on auto fuels, as the<br />
entire burden would shift to the consumers.<br />
While deregulation of the petrol prices is a<br />
possibility, chances of deregulation of diesel<br />
prices are less, considering its impact on<br />
inflation and given that 15 percent of the<br />
total diesel consumption is for agricultural<br />
purposes”, said a Mumbai-based Analyst. Sector<br />
analysts say Reliance in particular, could<br />
ramp up its retail operations at a much faster<br />
pace. “Reliance might take only a couple of<br />
quarters to regain its lost market share, as in<br />
the past, in a matter of less than four years,<br />
the company was able to ramp up its share<br />
in the diesel segment to 14 percent”, said an<br />
analyst who tracks Reliance closely. Reliance,<br />
in its fourth quarter results, said it had over<br />
650 retail outlets operational. It has 1 400odd<br />
retail fuel stations across the country<br />
and today has less than one per cent of retail<br />
market share. Shell India, which has 40 of<br />
its total 80 retail outlets operational, might<br />
also look at re-opening the balance outlets.<br />
brazil’s Petrobras to sell assets in argentina<br />
of directors for Energía Petrobras approved<br />
the terms and conditions of the sale agreement<br />
with Oil Combustibles for its refining<br />
business, which is located in San Lorenzo,<br />
Santa Fe, as well as the reverie unit and<br />
marketing network which consist of 360 fuel<br />
retail outlets and customers partners linked<br />
to the refinery. The sale deadline is estimated<br />
to take 90 days to finalize, and is subject to<br />
obtaining the administrative permits required<br />
by Argentinean law.<br />
LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
NewS – MIddLe eaSt, aFrICa & aSIa<br />
KSS enters austra lasian<br />
markets<br />
KSS Ltd, the provider of pricing software,<br />
analytics and consulting services to fuels<br />
retailers and wholesalers, announced that<br />
it has received orders for its PriceNet retail<br />
fuels pricing system for Australia and New<br />
Zealand, under its global agreement with a<br />
multinational fuels supplier and marketer.<br />
In addition to significantly expanding<br />
the footprint of PriceNet usage within<br />
the aforementioned customer, this latest<br />
development in KSS business will provide<br />
a platform for the company to serve the<br />
pricing and performance management<br />
needs of fuels retailers and wholesalers<br />
in the Asia-Pacific region.<br />
PetroaSSISt installs<br />
SMartFLeX pipes in<br />
angola’s largest site<br />
PETROASSIST (Portugal) has recently<br />
completed the biggest service station in<br />
Angola using SMARTFLEX pipe and fitting<br />
system. The station is located in its<br />
capital city Luanda and is owned by the<br />
oil company SONANGOL. Nupigeco was<br />
on site to follow the training of installers<br />
and the installation. NUPI Group has also<br />
announced that it is producing PE pipes in<br />
China together with its joint venture GECO<br />
Shanghai. PE pipe from Ø 20 to Ø 400 will<br />
be produced according to the production<br />
program of composite pipes in China.<br />
a day without fuel<br />
subsidies in brunei<br />
On one day last month, motorists in Brunei<br />
paid the commercial market rates when<br />
purchasing petrol from filling stations, as<br />
the government retracted its fuel subsidies<br />
for just one day. The one-day taste of life<br />
without fuel subsidies is one of the campaigns<br />
which the Energy Division at the<br />
Prime Minister’s Office came up with to<br />
mark Energy Day. A senior officer from the<br />
Energy Division informed that the campaign<br />
hoped to “open the eyes” of Bruneians to<br />
the importance of energy subsidies to the<br />
community and garner greater public appreciation<br />
for such resources. In 2008, the<br />
government subsidised a total of US $ 340<br />
million in fuel for vehicles, including diesel,<br />
Regular 84, Super 92 and Premium 97. The<br />
previous year, Brunei spent US $ 202 million<br />
on fuel subsidies, a marked increase<br />
from the US $ 50 million spent in 2004.<br />
13
NewS – MIddLe eaSt, aFrICa & aSIa<br />
14 LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM
All text on this page is submitted and written by suppliers. Please email product news to editor@<strong>erpecnews</strong>.com<br />
Mark vII acquires advantek in ontario<br />
Mark VII Equipment Inc., the U.S. subsidiary<br />
of WashTec AG of Germany, a leading<br />
producer of vehicle washing equipment<br />
worldwide, has announced that it has acquired<br />
the assets of former PDQ distributor<br />
Advantek Inc. and opened direct operations<br />
in Toronto, Ontario.<br />
“We welcome the Advantek team to the Mark<br />
VII family”, said Murray Kennedy, CEO of<br />
Mark VII. “They’re one of the most successful<br />
carwash distributors in Ontario and have<br />
a reputation for providing great service to<br />
multi-site operators with different brands of<br />
PeC Fuel Pumps to develop vapour recovery<br />
management system<br />
A grant from the Australian government for<br />
almost US $ 1 million will allow PEC to refine<br />
further technology to stop fuel vapours being<br />
lost into the atmosphere when motorists<br />
fill their tanks at petrol stations. PEC Fuel<br />
Pumps will get US $ 961 000 from the Foundation<br />
for Research, Science and Technology<br />
to develop the system so it can be used at a<br />
range of petrol pumps throughout the world.<br />
PEC Managing Director Richard Coxon<br />
Indigo I-PoS is a real asset!<br />
I-POS is an in-house developed stand-alone<br />
till system developed with the small to<br />
medium sized c-store operation in mind. It<br />
features scanning and promotions management<br />
with all sales and maintenance administered<br />
through the touch screen. I-POS was<br />
recently installed at a UK convenience store<br />
company, Chapmans and with minimal training<br />
and after the smooth install, the client<br />
said he found the I-POS extremely reliable<br />
and was impressed with the control he now<br />
has from the till. He said ‘I can manage my<br />
cash, create new products, and even print<br />
shelf edge labels from the till. The latest<br />
amscreen signs another fuel chain<br />
Britain’s Amscreen is set to nearly double its<br />
presence in gas-station convenience stores<br />
through a deal with fuel retailer MRH, and<br />
believes its network could eventually reach 10<br />
million motorists weekly. Its “close-proximity<br />
signage” systems will be rolled out to 300 sites<br />
operated by the UK’s largest independent fuel<br />
retailer, and form part of the Amscreen Convenience<br />
Store Network. A similar contract<br />
earlier this year led to installation of Amscreen’s<br />
digital signage at 335 BP fuel stations. The<br />
new five-year deal sees Amscreen become<br />
equipment, which is a cornerstone of Mark<br />
VII’s strategy for servicing large accounts.”<br />
“We’re excited to team up with Mark VII and<br />
WashTec”, said Mike Johnston, President of<br />
Advantek. “We have strong relationships with<br />
both petroleum retailers and independent<br />
operators throughout Ontario, and we look<br />
forward to continuing to serve them as part<br />
of the global leader in the carwash industry.”<br />
Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Arvada,<br />
Colorado., Mark VII is a wholly owned<br />
subsidiary of WashTec AG of Germany, a<br />
producer of vehicle washing equipment.<br />
said the money should allow the company<br />
to expand beyond its traditional markets of<br />
New Zealand and Australia. He went on to<br />
say “Fuel vapours are already recovered when<br />
fuel is distributed from tankers to service<br />
stations, but they are normally lost from<br />
motorists’ vehicles at the pumps. It has been<br />
estimated that, worldwide, 1.3 trillion litres<br />
of fuel vapours escape when people fill their<br />
vehicle tanks at petrol stations”.<br />
touch-screen technology means my cashiers<br />
find the system easy to use and mistakes are<br />
minimised. We’re celebrating 100 years of<br />
trading this year and I think the I-POS will<br />
be a real asset to us as we start the next 100!<br />
Baljit Tank, Managing Director of Indigo<br />
Retail commented “I’m delighted with the<br />
success of the I-POS so far. Our investment<br />
in developing a solution for c-store retailers<br />
who don’t need all the functionality of a till<br />
and back office system, is enabling business<br />
people to benefit from the latest developments<br />
in hardware and software technology at a<br />
price that suits their business.”<br />
the exclusive supplier of digital signage to<br />
MRH, which runs fuel stations across Britain<br />
under the BP, Esso, Jet, Shell, Texaco and<br />
Total brands. Reaching more than 2 million<br />
drivers weekly, the screens will carry advertising<br />
from national and regional advertisers, as<br />
well as promotions for MRH’s products and<br />
services and information such as traffic news.<br />
Amscreen CEO Simon Sugar said: “We believe<br />
the Amscreen Convenience Store Network ...<br />
potentially could reach in excess of 10 million<br />
motorists a week.”<br />
LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
SuPPLIer NewS<br />
Pro-Sales car wash<br />
strategy boosts profit<br />
at petrol stations<br />
The company Pro-Sales Direct has successfully<br />
developed and applied a sales strategy<br />
across Australia and New Zealand that helps<br />
increase traffic, activity and revenue at petrol<br />
stations. They do this by passively engaging<br />
with potential customers, demonstrating and<br />
explaining the benefits of their unique product<br />
FW1; a waterless cleaning wax. Owner of 6<br />
independent BP sites across New Zealand,<br />
Bob Styles put the strategy into practice.<br />
Pro-Sales Direct pays him a fee to rent his<br />
forecourt space to provide his customers with<br />
their ‘retail demonstration’. After the trial, Mr<br />
Styles concluded that “It certainly is a benefit”.<br />
More info www.fw1.com.au<br />
LSI Industries launches<br />
Crossover 3 line<br />
LSI Industries has taken its Crossover canopy<br />
lighting to a whole new level with the creation<br />
of the Crossover Generation 3 line. The<br />
Gen 3 was developed to provide the absolute<br />
best LED lighting solution at the most affordable<br />
cost. The Crossover Gen 3 delivers<br />
a refined level of lighting performance and<br />
control, which is made possible by further<br />
advancements of LSI’s proprietary SmartTec<br />
technology, which is the intelligence platform<br />
that is built into every Crossover Gen<br />
3 canopy fixture. Crossover Gen 3 fixtures<br />
were designed to retrofit existing Scottsdale<br />
and Scottsdale-like fixtures without having<br />
to cut the canopy deck as well as for new<br />
construction. One of the leading benefits of<br />
the Crossover Generation 3 canopy fixture is<br />
the use of LSI’s innovative TriLume optics.<br />
The multiple optics and drive currents allow<br />
the site operator to choose the lighting<br />
that is best suited for the site’s environment.<br />
When those optics have been chosen, LSI’s<br />
simplified installation means that the Gen<br />
3 fixtures can be installed in less than half<br />
the normal time. Once they have been<br />
installed, sites will experience significantly<br />
lower operating and utility costs thanks to<br />
LSI’s SmartTec intelligent controls. These<br />
controls include sophisticated self-diagnostic<br />
intelligence that ensures a cool-running<br />
fixture as well as optional daylight sensing<br />
to eliminate “day burners” and occupancysensing<br />
to ensure the fixtures will dim when<br />
no presence is detected. The Crossover<br />
Generation 3 system is the result of LSI’s<br />
34-plus years of experience in delivering<br />
revolutionary lighting solutions, like the<br />
Scottsdale, designed specifically for the<br />
petroleum market.<br />
15
Chris Hallsworth, Global Category Manager,<br />
Contracting and Procurement: Retail Engineering,<br />
Automation and Real Estate for Shell<br />
Frequent visitors to London will know that<br />
there is one building on the South Bank of the<br />
River Thames, next to the London Eye and in<br />
front of Waterloo Station, which is extremely<br />
difficult to ignore, especially if you happen to<br />
be involved in the business of retail petroleum.<br />
With 27 floors and standing 107 metres high,<br />
towering above the thousands of tourists who<br />
walk past it every day, the Shell Centre is an<br />
icon in the Oil and Gas industry, but more<br />
to the point it was where I was to meet up<br />
with Chris Hallsworth, who after 23 years<br />
working with Shell in various capacities, finds<br />
himself heading up Global Contracting and<br />
Procurement for Retail Engineering, a sector<br />
he had only left 8 years previously, plus site<br />
automation and real estate.<br />
Re calling the time he was last involved with<br />
this market, Chris comments “From 1987 to<br />
2001 I had worked in the UK for Shell Retail,<br />
variously managing construction, maintenance<br />
and special projects, eventually setting up and<br />
managing the European Engineering Hub.<br />
This period spanned some exciting times for<br />
Retail Engineering and a progressive move<br />
away from local solutions to regional and global<br />
approaches. In those days a significant part of<br />
the job was what is now called Contracting and<br />
Procurement and in 2001 I moved to a newly<br />
established Global Procurement team where I<br />
led C&P stategy development for Shell’s Global<br />
Lubricants Business. As a development from<br />
this in 2004 I established and led a new company<br />
in Netherlands, Shell Lubricants Supply<br />
Company BV, as the centre of excellence and<br />
prime trading vehicle for Shell’s lubricant additives<br />
requirements. After enjoying my time<br />
in The Hague immensly I returned to the UK<br />
in 2009 to take up my current position, back<br />
with my alma mater, Retail.” I asked Chris if<br />
any one thing stands out as being different to<br />
when he last worked in this market, to which<br />
he answered, “Many things stand out. We tend<br />
to think of this industry as being quite slow<br />
moving and conservative but the changes in<br />
the 8 years I was away have been profound.<br />
Just 3 examples are that outsourcing has moved<br />
from tentative beginnings to being the norm,<br />
data of all types is much more available and<br />
robust, decision-making is based on Total Cost<br />
of Ownership and not just acquisition cost.”<br />
www.shell.com<br />
Chris Hallsworth, Global Category Manager, Contracting and Procurement: Retail Engineering, Automation and Real<br />
Estate for Shell, returning to the retail sector, after a gap of eight years, following his move to Shell lubricants.<br />
Apart from chatting about old times, this I<br />
felt was a good opportunity to ask Chris about<br />
the structure of Shell’s C&P and Engineering<br />
departments, both of which have to be<br />
understood by suppliers should they become<br />
involved, or potentially involved in Shell’s<br />
retail business. Chris was quick to point out<br />
that two Project Management Companies<br />
(PMC’s) Coteba (headquartered in Paris)<br />
and SKM (headquartered in Kuala Lumpur)<br />
feature heavily in Shell’s operations around the<br />
world, although he added “Whilst driving our<br />
construction through PMC’s is our favoured<br />
approach, we are not yet covered in several<br />
emerging major markets like Russia, India or<br />
China. The overall objective is for Shell to drive<br />
the investment programme, standards, harmonisation,<br />
and those elements of procurement<br />
deemed strategic, whilst empowering selected<br />
third parties to manage non-core activities.<br />
Brand image, customer value proposition,<br />
standards and safety policy and objectives<br />
are kept tightly under our own control as<br />
each in its own way impacts on the value of<br />
the business.” Chris explains that the PMCs<br />
are specialists in managing and delivering<br />
large and complex multi-national programmes<br />
and they coordinate the designs, regulatory<br />
approvals, tender for building contractors and<br />
some equipment and supervise construction.<br />
In terms of specifying equipment and services<br />
used on sites throughout the world Shell has<br />
established three levels of control, which as<br />
mentioned earlier, reflects the need to keep<br />
An interview by Nick Needs<br />
certain activities close to their chest. The highest<br />
level, controlled by Shell, includes items<br />
such as fuel dispensers, pipe work systems<br />
and signage. The next level, controlled by the<br />
PMC includes appointing the construction<br />
companies and sourcing certain equipment<br />
categories such as underground storage tanks,<br />
canopies, shopfittings etc. The lowest level,<br />
most often dealt with by the main contractor,<br />
relates to essential commodities such<br />
as perimeter lighting, electrical switchgear,<br />
drainage items etc. Once the site is finished<br />
the keys are handed over to Johnson Controls<br />
Inc, who provide facilities management at the<br />
majority of company owned sites in Europe,<br />
Asia, Latin America and Canada.<br />
Supporting Chris at a Global level are, Yi-Boon<br />
Teoh (Category Manager, Design, Construction<br />
and Real Estate), Joseph van Calster (Site<br />
automation), Craig Robertson (Site equipment)<br />
and Andries Nelemans ( Site maintenance).<br />
Beyond this there are another 15 C&P professionals<br />
working at regional and country<br />
levels. On the subject of personnel I asked<br />
Chris what he thought of erpec, having first<br />
been at the event back in 1999 when it took<br />
place in Cannes, France. He said “erpec is<br />
ideal for me and some specific members of<br />
the team to meet and talk with companies<br />
on a European and global level that we don’t<br />
usually get a chance to see”. I would expect to<br />
see Shell represented in Barcelona next May<br />
for erpec 2011. Thank you Chris, we look<br />
forward to seeing you there.<br />
SHeLL<br />
LateSt NewS, LateSt eveNtS, NewS, JobS eveNtS, oNLINe JobS JobS – oNLINe www.PetroLPLaza.CoM oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
– www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
17
Feature – tCI eNvIroNMeNt INterNatIoNaL Nv<br />
Flexible, non-metallic pipes for the under-<br />
ground LPG transport in service stations<br />
At a recent event Nick Needs spent some<br />
time with TCI Managing Director Francois<br />
Meersseman, who wanted to explain a new<br />
breakthrough in flexible non-metallic piping,<br />
some of which he understood and some of<br />
which required a little more explaining, but in<br />
the process Nick asked Francois if he would<br />
put together a short article on the subject,<br />
which is shown below.<br />
TCI Environment International nv, member<br />
of the CGH Group, is the first worldwide to<br />
introduce a real flexible, fibers re-enforced,<br />
thermoplastic pipe for the underground transport<br />
of LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas. This<br />
flexible pipe is based on the proven Thermoflex<br />
technology developed by Polyflow Inc. and<br />
successfully applied as tubing in the oil &<br />
gas industry. The Thermoflex – LPG pipe<br />
construction is comprised of three components.<br />
An inner liner of a special Nylon grade that<br />
is compatible with LPG in both liquid and<br />
vapour form. Aramid fibres provide all of the<br />
strength of the pipe. Many are aware of the<br />
poor creep (stretch under a load) properties of<br />
plastics in general and PE pipes in particular.<br />
Aramid fibres have exhibited excellent creep<br />
and strength properties as proven by their application<br />
in bullet proof vests and tire cords.<br />
Longitudinal fibres are applied to minimize<br />
stretch and radial braided fibres provide the<br />
by Francois Meersseman, Managing Director, TCI Environment Int. nv<br />
burst strength of the pipe. Locking the fibres<br />
at the ends of the pipe requires a coupling<br />
similar to a hydraulic hose fitting. The metal<br />
coupling that is swaged onto the pipe’s ends<br />
grabs the fibres and holds them in place. One<br />
should think of a pipe where the fibres are<br />
providing all of the strength with the polymers<br />
acting as a caulk filling in the holes around<br />
the braid. Unlike with PE pipes the wall<br />
thickness is not determining the strength of<br />
the Thermoflex – LPG pipe!<br />
The polypropylene outer jacket’s sole purpose is<br />
to provide an abrasion resistant layer to protect<br />
the braiding. Unlike with solid un-reinforced<br />
PE pipe’s, scratches, nicking, abrading, gouging<br />
etc. of the outer jacket does not degrade the<br />
physical properties of Thermoflex – LPG pipes.<br />
As long as the braiding is not damaged or cut,<br />
the integrity of the pipe remains unaffected.<br />
Traditionally, underground piping of LPG<br />
installations are welded in carbon steel tubes<br />
that needs to be protected against corrosion.<br />
TCI is the first worldwide to introduce a fibre<br />
re-enforced, flexible thermoplastic pipe that<br />
eliminates all the disadvantages and concerns<br />
related to steel tubing.<br />
TCI’s Thermoflex LPG pipes are installed underground<br />
always in continuous runs between<br />
tank & pump and dispenser, eliminating the<br />
delicate and time consuming jointing & welding<br />
18 LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
work associated with steel tubing. The LPG<br />
pipes come in sizes DN20, DN25 and DN32;<br />
larger pipe sizes for tank offset fill lines and<br />
industrial butane / propane installations will<br />
be manufactured on request. The pipes and<br />
associated couplings have a rated pressure of<br />
500 psi – 35 bar with a 1,5 design safety factor.<br />
The LPG pipes were thoroughly tested<br />
and certified by INIG, the Polish Oil & Gas<br />
Institute in Krakow Poland. Thermoflex LPG<br />
pipes are supplied in coils of 200 metres or<br />
longer and are cut to the required length on the<br />
building site. Couplings are machine swaged<br />
on site. The installation and the testing are<br />
done in a few hours versus days when using<br />
steel tubing. Since its introduction in April<br />
2009 more than 20 installations are operational<br />
in Poland. Early in 2010, BK Gas in Belgium<br />
used this pipe to equip its LPG facility in a<br />
Q8 and a Shell site. Work on the first LPG<br />
pipe installation in Italy is currently underway.<br />
The Thermoflex LPG pipes offer:<br />
» No Corrosion<br />
» Strong, 35 bar rated pipe & couplings<br />
» Installed in continuous runs<br />
» Flexible, easy and fast to install<br />
» Less pressure drop than steel tubing<br />
» 30+ years life expectancy<br />
More info www.tci-e.com
dreSSer wayNe<br />
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20 LateSt NewS, eveNtS, JobS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM
This month’s featured story from the UK’s Guardian national newspaper<br />
UK, Buncefield fire: Oil storage firm found guilty<br />
A company controlled by TOTAL and Chevron<br />
has been found guilty of host of grave safety<br />
failures that led to the Buncefield oil depot<br />
explosion and the largest fire in peacetime<br />
Europe. Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited<br />
(HOSL), which was owned by the oil conglomerates,<br />
was found guilty of failing to prevent<br />
major accidents and limit their effects, it<br />
was revealed on June 18th.The guilty verdict<br />
followed one of the most complex corporate<br />
criminal trials of its kind and is a major blow<br />
for TOTAL, the major shareholder.<br />
It will also intensify global concern over the<br />
safety practices of international companies.<br />
BP’s Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, is under<br />
unrelenting pressure over safety lapses suspected<br />
to have caused the Deepwater Horizon<br />
oil rig disaster, the cause of the largest offshore<br />
oil spill in US history. The Buncefield blast<br />
on 11st December 2005 had a magnitude of<br />
2.4 and the subsequent plume which drifted<br />
across Europe was visible from space. The<br />
destruction at the depot came after a huge<br />
vapour cloud ignited when 250 000 litres of<br />
petrol leaked from one of its tanks. The explosion<br />
injured 43 people, destroyed homes and<br />
businesses and could be heard 125 miles away.<br />
Prosecutors said it was miraculous that there<br />
were no fatalities, a fact largely attributed to<br />
the accident happening early on a Sunday.<br />
The jury of 11 men and one woman were<br />
told that the environmental damage caused<br />
of safety breaches<br />
was still not known. The eight-week trial at<br />
St Albans crown court saw a range of criticisms<br />
of HOSL and TOTAL UK, which had<br />
three out of five directors on the company’s<br />
board and employed most of the staff on site.<br />
The court heard how there was no proper<br />
management chain at Buncefield, a failure<br />
to abide by baseline “good practice guidance”,<br />
“insufficient awareness” of the potential for an<br />
accident and no system for investigating near<br />
misses. Andrew Langdon QC, prosecuting in<br />
the Buncefield case on behalf of the Health<br />
and Safety Executive and Environment Agency,<br />
told the court that employers could have done<br />
much more to ensure staff could perform their<br />
jobs better at the site, near Hemel Hempstead.<br />
“Supervisors didn’t get much help or protection<br />
in what they did. They didn’t get any<br />
risk assessments worth their name – pretty<br />
essential you might think – how the tanks<br />
should be filled, how they should be emptied,<br />
what happens with all these considerations”,<br />
he said. Training manuals were found to be<br />
out of date and there was found to be a “degree<br />
of fatigue” among the supervisors tasked<br />
with keeping the depot safe. Contracts with<br />
companies who worked onsite were found to<br />
be insufficiently clear, with contractors unsure<br />
of lines of responsibly.<br />
Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, the judge who<br />
presided over the case, summarised there<br />
had been “a large number of failures with<br />
systems and procedures on site”. HOSL was<br />
found guilty on the Wednesday, but the verdict<br />
could not be reported until the next day, when<br />
the company’s lawyers brought the trial to a<br />
premature end by pleading guilty to additional<br />
charges relating to the causing of pollution to<br />
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Featured Story – buNCeFIeLd<br />
enter controlled waters underlying the vicinity<br />
around Buncefield. TOTAL, which owned<br />
a 60 percent stake in HOSL and previously<br />
admitted three health and safety breaches in<br />
connection with the explosion, and Chevron<br />
could be made to pay huge fines levied against<br />
HOSL when the company is sentenced next<br />
month. The charges carry unlimited fines, and<br />
the penalties could run into millions.<br />
Among the other companies implicated in<br />
the trial were the British Pipeline Agency,<br />
which admitted two charges relating to environmental<br />
damage. Guilty verdicts were also<br />
brought against two other companies linked<br />
to the Buncefield site. TAV Engineering, a<br />
Surrey-based company, designed a crucial<br />
safety-switch that should have alerted staff<br />
at the site that an oil tanker was over-flowing<br />
but failed. Motherwell Control Systems 2003,<br />
which had a maintenance contract for the site<br />
and installed and looked after the switch, was<br />
found guilty of the same charge.<br />
Motherwell Control Systems went into liquidation<br />
shortly after the disaster before reappearing<br />
at a nearby address “under another guise”, the<br />
court heard. The Health and Safety Executive<br />
and Environment Agency said in a statement:<br />
“When companies put workers and members<br />
of the public at risk and cause environmental<br />
damage we will prosecute. When the fire tore<br />
through the Buncefield site, these companies<br />
had failed to protect workers, members of the<br />
public and the environment. The scale of the<br />
explosion and fire at Buncefield was immense<br />
and it was miraculous that nobody died. Unless<br />
the high hazard industries truly learn the lessons,<br />
we may not be that fortunate in future.”<br />
21 21
XXX NewS<br />
22<br />
ALTERNATIVEFUEL NEws<br />
Honda does not, believe in pure electric cars<br />
The parent company of the first electric car<br />
launched on the market in 1997, the Honda<br />
EV Plus (in production for only two years), is<br />
now skeptical on the success of this kind of<br />
car. The head of Honda’s research, Tomohiko<br />
Kawanabe, said: “we need to see if consumers<br />
are willing to accept limited autonomy of electric<br />
cars and the ‘hassle’ of long time reload”, then<br />
added, “we are continuing research into electric<br />
cars, but at present I would not advise”. The<br />
skepticism of Honda is in contrast with predictions<br />
of another major Japanese manufacturer,<br />
Nissan, previewing by 2020 a market share<br />
of 10 percent for electric cars. The problem<br />
is that cars like the Mitsubishi i-Leaf or Miev<br />
have limited autonomy, about 150 – 160 km,<br />
influenced by the use of onboard services, such<br />
europe’s first commercial fast-charging ev station opens<br />
Europe’s first commercial smart-charging station<br />
for electric vehicles (EV) has opened for<br />
business in The Netherlands. Developed by<br />
smart-charging solutions leader, Epyon Power,<br />
and operated by Dutch utility company, Essent,<br />
the charging stations are fully operational and<br />
accessible at the Tamoil petrol station in Leeuwarden,<br />
the capital city of Friesland province.<br />
The motivation for the charging stations is<br />
obvious: to stimulate Electric Vehicle use, to<br />
show how quick the smart-charging stations<br />
can be installed, and to show that they can also<br />
function safely in the controlled environments<br />
of petrol stations. The fast-charging station<br />
delivers 50 kilowatts of power and can fully<br />
Mascoma lands deal with Chevron<br />
Mascoma, which wants to develop microbes<br />
that can convert woody biomass into ethanol,<br />
has signed a important deal with Chevron<br />
Technology Ventures. Under the deal, Chevron<br />
will supply feedstocks to Mascoma, and then<br />
Mascoma’s microbes will convert the material<br />
into ethanol and lignin, the tough material<br />
that protects plants. Chevron will then evaluate<br />
the result. To survive and thrive, biofuel<br />
startups will invariably have to partner with<br />
as air conditioning, or the route: it consumes<br />
more in the long distances with the accelerator<br />
fully depressed. Indeed, not all think like<br />
Nissan: Menahem Anderman, president of a<br />
consulting firm for the alternative energy segment<br />
called Advanced Automotive Batteries,<br />
believes that by 2020 not more than 1 percent<br />
of cars in the world will mount an electric<br />
motor. Honda has a vision made reality by the<br />
electric car prototype FCX Clarity, driven by an<br />
electric motor, but powered by a hydrogen fuel<br />
cell which produces the power required by the<br />
electric motor. Who is right? – In fact no one<br />
in the sense that there is, today, a “definitive”<br />
solution. The current battery technology is<br />
limited and expects a generation jump (which<br />
will not happen soon) to see “batteries” with<br />
a significantly increased capacity of storing<br />
energy. So probably, within the next 10 years<br />
we will mainly see electric city cars. For longer<br />
journeys there will be hybrid cars in their various<br />
technological designs. The electric-powered<br />
Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen should have a<br />
more limited market, because of the lack of a<br />
network of hydrogen filling stations.<br />
charge the 9-person taxi-vans of Taxi Kijlstra in<br />
only 30 minutes. The stations are also remotely<br />
monitored and controlled through Epyon’s<br />
Power-Routing Network. A single fast charging<br />
station can operate several compact outlets so<br />
multiple EV’s can be charged simultaneously<br />
from a single charging station. Taxi Kijlstra,<br />
the largest taxi firm in the north of the Netherlands,<br />
recently transformed two of their taxi<br />
fleet into electric powered vehicles without any<br />
limitations on the service side. The taxi-vans<br />
can drive 100 kilometre or more on a single<br />
fast charge. Friesland has an ambitious target<br />
of having 100 000 EV’s on the road within the<br />
next five years.<br />
the major fuel companies. Chevron already<br />
has an R&D alliance with Solazyme, which<br />
makes algal biodiesel. Shell has deals with<br />
70 or so different alternative fuel companies,<br />
according to sources. Mascoma recently underwent<br />
some management changes. CEO<br />
Bruce Jamerson became chairman and also<br />
chairman of Frontier Renewable Resources,<br />
which is trying to raise money to build a plant<br />
in Michigan based around Mascoma’s microbes.<br />
LateSt aLterNatIve FueL NewS – www.PetroLPLaza.CoM<br />
ohio chooses local<br />
business to expand its<br />
fuel solutions<br />
A family business in the US, which turned<br />
to compressed natural gas to fight rising fuel<br />
costs for its fleet, has been chosen by the state<br />
to spread the solution to other parts of the<br />
Ohio. Kirk Energy Group LLC has received<br />
more than US $ 2.7 million in federal stimulus<br />
grants through Clean Fuels Ohio to build four<br />
compressed natural gas fuelling stations in<br />
the state. “Our [customer] demographic is<br />
not Joe and Mary Smith; our demographic<br />
is the fleets in the market we operate”, said<br />
Christian Pedersen, co-managing member of<br />
Kirk Energy, along with his brother-in-law,<br />
Andrew Rill, who shares the title. The two<br />
are executives in other family businesses<br />
in Findlay: Mr. Pedersen, with H&O Services,<br />
a Findlay waste-hauling and property<br />
management company, and Mr. Rill, with<br />
Findlay Machine & Tool Inc. The two firms<br />
have a diverse combined fleet of about 250<br />
vehicles – from massive 40-ton trucks down<br />
to light-duty vans and pickups. “We formed<br />
Kirk Energy in response to the fuel price spike”,<br />
Mr. Rill said. We came together collectively<br />
to brainstorm on an answer because, as a<br />
family unit, we were spending millions on<br />
diesel fuel. We settled on compressed natural<br />
gas because it offered up the most strategic<br />
advantages as a fuel source for our fleets. The<br />
state-administered grants – part of an US $ 11<br />
million federally funded program to promote<br />
cleaner fuel technologies state-wide – will<br />
help pay for construction of four compressed<br />
natural gas fueling stations and a portion of<br />
the cost to convert fleet vehicles to use the<br />
fuel. Clean Fuels Ohio expects the investment<br />
to leverage another US $ 19 million in private<br />
funds. Compressed natural gas can cost as<br />
much as US $ 1 per gallon cheaper than the<br />
equivalent amount of gasoline or diesel fuel,<br />
Mr. Rill said. When the four stations are<br />
online, expected by 2015, they will double<br />
the number of existing compressed natural<br />
gas filling stations in the state that are open<br />
to the public.
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TM<br />
www.fafnir.com<br />
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www.iisltd.com<br />
www.istobal.com<br />
www.kaercher.com<br />
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www.opw-fce.com<br />
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sloan led.com<br />
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www.washtec.de<br />
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