Leak detection systems for petrol stations - ErpecNews

an international retail petroleum news digest
Contents
News from around Europe, The Middle
East, America and the rest of the world
Page 1–9
Alternative Fuel News
Page 11
‘Shop Spot’ Rompetrol Petrom and a story
from Romania Page 12 – 15
erpecnews
EuropEan Edition
www.erpecnews.com
China National Petroleum Corp reports
US $ 250 million quake losses
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) have reported that last month’s earthquake
in gas-rich southwest China cost it estimated losses of 1.78 billion yuan
(254.3 million dollars) and the lives of at least five staff
China’s largest oil and gas producer said
facilities in quake-hit regions, including oil
and gas fields, refineries, and oil depots were
damaged by the massive quake, according to
a statement posted on its website. The May
12 quake devastated around 100 000 square
kilometres (25 000 square miles) of Sichuan
oMv to sell 60 petrol stations in Germany
Across the central German states of Thuringia
and Saxony, 60 sites owned by OMV,
which cannot be directly supplied by its own
refinery, are to be sold, OMV said in a recent
statement. OMV also announced that OMV
province, which accounts for more than 20
percent of the nation´s total natural gas production.
The confirmed death toll from the
earthquake in Sichuan and neighbouring areas
is 34 073, a central government spokesman
said. But the toll could go much higher, with
the Sichuan government saying that more than
71 000 people were dead, buried or missing
in the province. CNPC, parent of Hong
Kong and Shanghai-listed PetroChina, said
44 employees were injured, five were missing
and it had “lost contact” with another five following
the quake. PetroChina had previously
said one gas well that normally produces six
million cubic metres (210 million cubic feet)
per day had been halted in the immediate
aftermath of the quake, but CNPC said its
natural gas production in Sichuan province
had recently been restored to 99 percent of
the output level before the disaster. CNPC
said that 908 filling stations were damaged
and 65 had halted operations. Forty-seven
oil depots and 71 oil and gas pipelines were
also damaged.
Deutschland GmbH plans to sell its heating
oil unit OMV Bayern GmbH by the end of
2008, in order to simplify its heating oil operations
in the region, which in the future will
be marketed exclusively via partners.
‘The Big interview’ John Boudry, Exec-
utive Chairman, PetroTechnik Group
Page 18 – 19
‘Snapshot review’ Petrol Station 2008,
Warsaw 28–30 May Page 21
Technology update – erpec delegates re-
visited Page 22
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
Issue No 4 | June 2008
lukoil acquires
Europa-Mil
lukoil Europe Holdings, a subsidiary
of lukoil, has acquired Europa-Mil, a
privately owned croatian retailer
Lukoil acquired nine retail outlets in Zagreb
and Split, five land plots for construction
of filling stations as well as an oil products
railway hub with the capacity of 8 000 cubic
meters on the Danube river, the city of Vukovar
at the Croatian-Serbian border. Daily
average sales of oil products at Europe-Mil
retail spots are 11 tons. Petroleum products
will be supplied to the retail outlets by the
company´s refineries located in Bulgaria
and Romania. The assets will be managed
by Lukoil Croatia, established in 2007.
Lukoil plans to re-brand acquired assets
in consistence with its corporate style by
the end of 2008.
German cartel office
launches major retailer
inquiry
Germany’s anti-monopoly watchdog,
the Federal Cartel office, has
launched an inquiry into oil companies,
to establish whether there were
any ‘distortions’ to free competition
The sectoral study responds to outrage
among German motorists that pump
prices always seem to spiral just before
half the nation packs the car to depart on
long weekends or summer holidays.
The office in Bonn said it acted after
receiving many letters from consumers. It
said the inquiry had also been prompted by
complaints from the owners of independent
petrol stations that they were sometimes
charged wholesale prices, higher than the
major retailers pump prices.
A report would be compiled by the end
of the year. If any evidence were found
of breaches to competition law, the Cartel
Office would act. Five international
majors sell 73 percent of Germany’s
motor fuel: Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips,
ExxonMobil and Total.

CREdITS NEWS
2
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McLean Events
Petrogas to expand operations in Britain
Petrogas, which operates the Applegreen chain of petrol stations in Ireland, intends
to expand operations in Britain
Sources close to the company have revealed that Petrogas expects Britain to play an important
role in the company’s further growth. In recent years, the company has expanded
significantly. Currently, it has a network of approximately 50 filling stations in Ireland. In
addition to this, Petrogas has set up a chain of seven fuel stations in the Greater London
area over the past few months.
Strikes disrupt transport
and government
services in Greece
Strikes by union groups upset by Greek
government privatisation plans and
pension reforms, disrupted air transport
and state services recently.
Greeks have been forced to queue in huge lines
outside petrol stations as a ten-day protest in
May, by fuel tanker drivers, disrupted transport
and goods supplies across Greece. Ships
remained anchored at the ports of Pireaus
near Athens and in the northern port city of
Thessaloniki. State carrier Olympic Airlines
cancelled 20 flights and rescheduled another
14. Greek private company Aegean also cancelled
28 flights as air traffic controllers held
a four-hour walkout.
Bharat Petroleum intends to expand non-fuel
businesses in India
Bharat Petroleum plans to expand its non-petroleum businesses and in line with
this move, has set an ambitious target of taking its current turnover of INR 5.50
billion to INR 15 billion by 2011
As part of its intention
to expand
non-pet r oleu m
businesses, Bharat
Petroleum intends
to set up highway
fuel stations integrated
with cinema
halls and restaurants.
The company
has established 400
lukoil and olerex participate in GT oil
Estonia‘s auction
lukoil and olerex, two large Estonian fuel retailers, have both taken part in the
GT oil Estonia’s service stations auctions.
Lukoil has purchased a service station in Tallinn and Olerex has acquired a service station
in Kiviõli, a transport hub of the North-Eastern Estonian industrial area. “This was the only
retail asset of GT Oil we were really interested in”, says Antti Moppel, Marketing Director
of Olerex. “The acquisition, together with one more station, scheduled to be built later in
2008, gives Olerex complete coverage of the region.”
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
Malaysia to
restrict fuel sales
to foreigners
Malaysia will temporarily curb petrol
and diesel sales to foreign motorists to
prevent abuse of subsidies and the ban
will be lifted once prices are gradually
set at a market level, the domestic
Trade Minister said recently.
The government is planning a new fuel subsidy
mechanism that will eventually allow
petrol and diesel to be sold in the country at
market prices, Shahrir Samad told reporters
at Malaysia’s parliament building. He said
a committee, led by the finance ministry, is
studying various proposals to ease off the
subsidy on the country’s fuel, but did not give
a timeframe for implementation.
convenience stores at its petrol sites. From the
present revenue of INR 2 billion, the company
intends to increase it to INR 5 billion in three
years. Another initiative ‘Beyond LPG’ intends
to reach a turnover of INR 10 billion by 2011
from the current INR 3.50 billion. ‘Beyond
LPG’ is a service where branded products are
home delivered to Bharat Petroleum customers
by, making use of the delivery system for
liquefied petroleum gas cylinders that are
already in operation.

BP has announced that it is to further develop
its fuel retail network in Poland
The head of BP in Poland has announced that the company will continue to expand
its presence in the country, with a particular focus on the motorway sector
Bp looking for new sites at Stacja paliw, last month’s retail petroleum exhibition in Warsaw.
This is likely to be a shrewd decision; the
strong growth in fuel sales in Poland, as well
as the large motorway construction projects
currently underway, means that the market
is full of opportunities for fuel retailers such
as BP. The CEO of BP’s Polish division, BP
Polska, has vigorously denied rumors that
the fuel retailer is to pull out of the Polish
market, a move that would have provided the
opportunity for GazpromNeft and Lukoil to
purchase BP’s service station network. Instead,
BP has reinforced its commitment to growing
its footprint in Poland and has stated that it
expects its revenues from the area to continue
increasing in the future.
As a consequence of it‘s strong economic results,
BP intends to continue investing in the
market. It is especially interested in tendering
for commissions to build petrol stations on
motorways, as well as developing its coffee
shop chain, which currently has 112 outlets.
Poland has a number of attractive features as
a market for fuel retailers. While fuel sales in
Western European markets are either stagnant
Fuel trafficking on Kosovo-Serbia border
Fuel trafficking has emerged across the Kosovo-Serbia border as a result of the
price differential between Kosovo and Serbia
Petrol stations in the northern Kosovo-Metohija
localities including Leposavic, north
Kosovska Mitrovica and Zubin Potok, have
been selling fuel at lower prices than in Serbia.
A news source has reported that truck
drivers and border area residents from Serbia
are purchasing fuel in Kosovo and saving
between RSD 1 500 and RSD 5 000 on a full
tank of gasoline. Trafficking is reported to be
taking place in private places like garages and
cellars. In Kosovo, fuel oil is priced at RSD
80 and petrol is priced between RSD 85 and
RSD 95. Prices are known to vary depending
on the demand-supply equation. Fuels
are being illegally transported from Kosovo
to Serbia by way of channels across Mount
Rogozina and Lake Gazivode. Fuel supplied
to the northern parts of Kosovo comes from
Serbian oil refineries. Kosovan fuel traders do
not pay excise duty and in 90 percent cases
do not pay VAT either, helping fuel prices
remain half the Serbian rates.
RIl looks at Europe to sell Petro goods
Reliance Industries ltd (RIl), which recently said it was shutting down its fuel
stations in India, plans to set up a storage and distribution base in Europe in an
effort to sell its petroleum products to customers there
The Mukesh Ambani-led group is looking at
locations in the Antwerp and Gent ports, in
the Flanders region of Belgium. It is in talks
with the port authorities and specialist tank
storage firms such as Oiltanking GmbH to store
and distribute products shipped from its 33
million tonnes (mt) a year refinery at Jamnagar
in Gujarat. Reliance currently exports about
17 mt a year of products from its refinery, a
100 percent export-oriented unit. By the end
of the year, the company will start operations
at another US $ 6 billion, 28 mt a year refinery
at Jamnagar, making it the largest refining
location in the world. Reliance recently closed
down its 1 432 fuel stations because it had not
been able to compete with state-owned firms
that sell petrol and diesel at prices subsidised
by the government. Private firms such as Reliance
are not eligible for such compensation,
but are free to price their products.
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
or falling, fuel sales through the Polish public
network have grown by more than 50 percent
since 2000.
Furthermore, compared to other European
markets, Poland offers a much greater potential
for players such as BP to expand on motorways.
The most significant motorway construction
project in Europe is currently underway in Poland,
with around 2 000 kilometers of motorway
either planned or recently completed. Based
on the assumption that there will be a service
station for every 40 kilometers of motorway on
both sides of the road, there will be space for
an additional 100 motorway sites in Poland; a
dramatic increase from the current 15 sites.
Also, competition law dictates that national
fuel retailer PKN Orlen will not be able to
retain its status as the sole fuel retailer on
most motorways. Polish law requires that, by
the time the projects are complete, at least
two or three different companies are present
on each motorway, giving players such as BP
an opportunity to invest. BP’s wish to remain
and expand in the Polish fuel retail market
is not surprising, especially given the strong
growth in fuel sales. Furthermore, the large
motorway initiative and the new laws forcing
competition into the motorway sector offer
the company a rare growth opportunity in an
attractive market.
lukoil‘s sixth filling
station in Macedonia
Russian oil major Lukoil has inaugurated its
sixth filling station in Stip, Macedonia, as part
of its wider plan to launch 15 such sites in the
country by the end of 2008. Lukoil has earlier
opened filling stations in the Macedonian cities
of Skopje, Bitola and Strumica. The Russian
company also operates an oil terminal at Stip.
Lukoil Macedonia has reportedly examined 71
sites across the country, which are considered
suitable for setting up filling stations.
EU Commission seeks
filling station records
from oMv
The European Commission has asked Austrian
oil company OMV for filling station pricing
records, triggering last month‘s suspension of a
competition review of a pending OMV deal, a
national source stated recently. The Commission
suspended its review of the Austrian oil
company’s 14 billion euro (US $ 21.68 billion)
unsolicited bid for Hungarian rival MOL, last
month, without giving a reason.
A spokesman for the EU competition watchdog
said at the time, that information was missing
without providing further details.
NEWS
3

NEWS
Pemex oozes Mexican
corruption
Funds belonging to the Mexican state
oil monopoly, Pemex, have paid in recent
years for liposuction treatment for
the wife of the company’s chief executive,
a presidential candidate’s campaign,
contracts with firms facing legal
action and the whims of trade union
leaders who are not required to account
for their expenses
“Pemex is a can of worms. If you do something
right, they come after you. If you shut
up about some irregularity, they reward
you and if you take part in the corruption,
you profit,” a Pemex worker expressed. “I’m
not saying everything is like that – there
are also honest people,“ added the worker,
whose name is withheld for his safety. The
employee said that after he replaced several
worn-out parts of a gas valve, a group of
internal auditors criticised his work, saying
they had found “too many foreign parts”
and ordered him to put the originals back
in place. He said that when his boss protested,
he was accused of a bias in favour
of a private supplier and an investigation
against him was launched.
Employees hand back
fleet cars in the UK
Crippling tax liabilities on employees
with company cars is now so severe
that many are handing them back and
buying their own
The switch means that the supply of one or
two-year-old company cars into the secondhand
market is drying up and families who
depend upon them as second-hand bargains
are being priced out of the market. These
include family models such as the Ford
Mondeo, Vauxhall Vectra and versatile
hatchbacks like Peugeot 308 SW. The tax
liability on the privilege of having not only
a company car but also the fuel it uses,
means that many employees now consider
themselves to be worse off than if they just
bought their own.
Rural filling stations
for Mozambique
The Mozambican government is planning
to invest about three million US dollars in a
project to build filling stations in rural areas,
powered by solar panels
PdAM in Malaysia wants government to freeze
all approvals for new petrol stations
The Petrol dealers Association of Malaysia has said that the government should
immediately stop issuing approvals to oil companies for new petrol stations
This demand of the Petrol Dealers Association
of Malaysia (PDAM) follows efforts to
reduce fuel subsidy and curb profiteering.
In a statement, the association said: “Now
oil companies are giving all sort of incentives
to the consumers to encourage them
to buy more fuel. This encourages wastages
and unimportant fuel purchases. The end
JET – European Commission phase 2 review
The European Commission has announced that it has opened a detailed Phase
2 review of the proposed StatoilHydro acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ JET businesses
in denmark, Norway and Sweden
StatoilHydro and ConocoPhillips have been
cooperating with the Commission before
notification and during the preliminary Phase
1 investigation. Both parties look forward to
continuing to work with the Commission,
to resolve any competition concerns and to
close this transaction as soon as is possible. A
detailed review normally lasts up to 90 working
days. “Whilst we of course would have
wanted a faster process, when it comes to this
type of business transaction, it is not unusual
that it goes into a Phase 2 process. We will
Azerbaijan considers
setting up a filling station
network in Ukraine
A workgroup is preparing a report on
mutual investments of Azerbaijan and
Ukraine in the energy sector
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, said at
the energy forum in Ukraine that Azerbaijan
is very interested in the Ukrainian energy
sector. “Now we will discuss the implications
connected with investments in energy and if
the workgroup’s activity reports positive results,
the process will be started immediately.” Aliyev
said. Azerbaijan started the project of an International
network of filling stations, under the
SOCAR brand, by Socar Energy, in Georgia,
with a network of six filling stations.
4 lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
effect is that the oil companies fuel sales
volume goes up and the government pays a
higher fuel subsidy.” The association has also
asked the government to stop oil companies
from offering incentives to consumers to
buy fuel. Limiting the operating hours of
fuel stations will also lower fuel subsidies,
the association added.
continue to work toward our vision to become
the leading transportation fuel company in
Scandinavia,” said Senior VP Jacob Schram
in energy and retail Europe.
About StatoilHydro
Statoil E&R Europe has operations in Norway,
Denmark, Sweden, Poland, the Baltic States
and the Murmansk region. More than one
million customers visit Statoil’s 2100 outlets
and truck stops daily. The organisation has
9300 full-time employees.
Name, shame and
claim campaign for
crimes in the UK
Witnesses who report crimes committed
on filling station forecourts are to
be offered rewards
All 54 filling stations across the Bradford district
of the UK support the campaign and will be
displaying the Name, Shame and Claim posters,
urging people to report those responsible for
forecourt crime, including robbery, theft and assault.
The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS),
whose members include Esso, BP, Shell, Texaco
and Total, has just published a report showing
a 13 per cent increase in national overall losses
during 2007, with the problem of forecourt crime
expected to grow throughout 2008.

INA aims to sell petrol to EU markets in 2009
Croatia’s oil and gas company INA, aims to be able to produce petrol for the European
Union markets in 2009, CEo Tomislav dragicevic told delegates at INA’s
recent shareholders meeting.
He also said the state’s partial control of
local petrol and gas prices was severely
hampering INA’s business and eating into
its profits. “Our goal is to complete the first
phase of modernization of our two refineries
and be able to produce and sell the top
quality petrol on western markets in 2009,
primarily in Slovenia and Austria,” Dragicevic
said. INA has invested some 1 billion euro
(US $1.55 billion) in modernizing its two
dated refineries located in the northern
Adriatic port of Rijeka and in the central
town of Sisak. The plan is to fully overhaul
them by 2011.
INA, in which Hungary’s MOL has a 25
percent stake, had lost 1.7 billion kuna
(US $362 million) in 2007 due to semi-controlled
local prices of petrol and gas. “We
lost around 1 billion kuna on gas imports
and some 700 million kuna on oil imports.
It is not possible to run a business that way
in the longer run,” Dragicevic said. In an
effort to counter inflationary pressures, the
government capped the prices of gas and
electricity for companies and households
until July 1st and until this year intervened
to slow the increase of petrol product prices.
Despite earlier pledges to liberalize energy
prices, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said
that the government would continue to seek
ways to keep energy prices under control
and urged INA and other suppliers to review
their price policy.
Analysts said INA’s 2007 net profit of some
870 million kuna did not reflect its higher
sales, primarily because of administrative
maneuvering over energy prices. INA is a
dominant petrol retailer in Croatia with
market share of some 50 percent. The state
owns 44 percent and Hungary’s MOL 25
percent. The government listed 17 percent of
INA in Zagreb and London and distributed
14 percent to war veterans and INA’s employees.
Dragicevic said he was confident that
Lukoil, Russia’s second largest oil producer
which entered the Croatian market last
month, would not severely threaten INA’s
business. “Lukoil is a strong competitor, but
we have no reason to be afraid as we have
a huge advantage in locations (of our retail
business),” Dragicevic said. Lukoil bought
a small local retailer which owns nine
In Finland, Kesko signs agreement with Teboil
Kesko Foods and Teboil have signed a co-operation agreement, along with which
the K-Group customers will receive ‘Plussa points’ for their purchases from 300
Teboil stations starting from next autumn
The first K-markets at Teboil stations will
be opened during 2008 and the K-market
chain will expand to 70 Teboil stations. The
Neste co-operation and this agreement, now
signed with Teboil, will make the store net-
work of K-markets the most comprehensive
in Finland, according to Kesko. There are
currently as many as 3.5 million K-Plussa
cardholders in nearly 1.9 million households
in Finland.
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petrol stations and a storage facility. It said
it planned to build around 100 new petrol
stations across Croatia in coming years. INA
has upstream and downstream segments
and is involved in gas and oil exploration
and drilling in Africa and the Middle East.
Dragicevic said INA wanted to acquire up
to five new concessions for gas and oil in
the coming period.
IPMAN Nigeria
Independant Petroleum Marketeers Association
(IPMAN) says that it is not appreciated.
A spokesman said “We want the Federal Government
to recognise us. We build the filling
stations in all parts of the country. We take
the products there also, right to the people.
Our spread and coverage are truly national,
unlike the major petroleum marketers.
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NEWS
5

NEWS
6
Transact signs prepaid agreement with Aral
Transact, a subsidery of Euronet, will be the technical partner providing electronic
top-up (e-top-up) solutions for prepaid mobile airtime and other predetermined
prepaid products at Aral company-owned and franchised stations in Germany
The agreement with Aral is a significant win
for Euronet in the petrol-retail channel and
underlines its strong national and international
position. Initially, Transact expects to be
fully operational at approximately 1 450 Aral
company-owned petrol stations by the end of
the second quarter 2008. “At Aral, we aim
to provide everything our customers would
need when they are on the road, in addition
to fuel and lubricants. Our partnership with
Transact enables us to provide a wide-range
of popular prepaid communication and entertainment
products to our customers through
Transact’s convenient and secure e-top-up
system, whenever and wherever they might
be travelling in Germany,” said Nicola Butterwegge,
Aral head of CM Non Food.
Aral, owned by BP, is the leading fuel brand
marketer in Germany. It has the largest
network of petrol stations in Germany with
approximately 2 400 locations, of which
1 450 are company-owned and the remaining
are independently franchised. According to
company sources, approximately 40 percent
of the nearly 600 million annual Aral customers
stop by just to shop in their sleekly
designed retail spaces, which stock a range
of convenience items and Aral branded motor
oils, along with coffee and food. “We are very
Istobal and Gough Brothers
awarded car wash
contract for Topaz
Istobal have announced that their Irish
distributors, Gough Brothers, have
been awarded the tender for the supply
and maintenance of carwash and
service island equipment by Topaz Energy
limited. It is claimed by Istobal, to
be the largest tender in Ireland‘s car
washing history and represents a major
investment in this sector by Topaz
Energy.
Gough Brothers have been the exclusive
distributors for IstobaI in Ireland for the last
15 years and have been in existence for over
50 years.Topaz Energy, with 300 sites are in
the process of re-branding from Statoil and
Shell, to the new and eagerly awaited Topaz
brand. A quote from Istobal says “Topaz has a
vast wealth of knowledge in the oil company
business, through having some of the most
familiar names in the industry at the helm.
They are a young and vibrant company with
aggressive growth plans for the service sta-
pleased Aral has selected us exclusively to
offer our e-top-up services for prepaid products
at their petrol stations across Germany,”
said Michael J. Brown, Euronet chairman
and CEO. “The demand for prepaid telecom
and other prepaid products at retail locations
continues to increase every day. As the leading
processor of prepaid mobile airtime, we
are delivering within a short period of time
tion industry in Ireland.Istobal are extremely
delighted and proud to be associated with
Topaz Energy and Gough Brothers“. Frank
Gleeson, Retail Director of Topaz Group
commented “We selected Istobal and Gough
Brothers as our Car Wash and Service island
suppliers because they demonstrated that
they were progressive and that they have the
ability to deliver on innovation, product and
service quality.
Malta excluded from EU’s
energy saving campaign
Malta has been left out of an EU-wide
campaign promoting energy efficient
driving habits by the European Commission
and the European Petroleum
Industry Association (Europia).
The campaign, which begins this month, includes
every European Union Member State,
except Malta, as well as three non-EU member
States – Croatia, Switzerland and Norway.
While the campaign is no more than an awareness-raising
campaign, it would be considered
as a fundamental step toward combating an
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
customized e-top-up solutions to retailers in
the supermarket, convenience stores, petrol
stations, grocery, drug store and lottery channels
enabling them to expand their prepaid
offerings and stay competitive.”
About Euronet Worldwide
Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in
processing secure electronic financial transactions.
The Company offers payment and
transaction processing solutions to financial
institutions, mobile operators and retailers
which include comprehensive ATM, POS
and Card outsourcing services; card issuing
and merchant acquiring services; software
solutions; consumer money transfer and bill
payment services; electronic distribution for
prepaid mobile airtime and other prepaid
products.
Euronet operates and processes transactions
from 42 countries. Euronet’s global payment
network is extensive – including 11 917 ATMs
and approximately 51 000 EFT POS terminals
which are under management in 20 countries;
a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and
credit card services and card software solutions;
a prepaid processing network of 394 000
point-of-sale terminals across approximately
193 000 retailer locations in 14 countries and
a consumer-to-consumer money transfer network
of more than 68 000 locations serving
approximately 100 countries. With corporate
headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and
32 worldwide offices, Euronet serves clients
in 130 countries.
area of concern to Malta’s overall greenhouse
gas emissions, and in reaching the EU-imposed
target of reducing individual member States’
emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
During the election campaign Prime Minister
Lawrence Gonzi had stressed time and time
again that Malta faces particular challenges
in sustainable development and the environment,
not least because Malta has the
EU’s highest vehicle density level. The EU’s
number two spot is occupied by Holland,
which has a vehicle density level five times
lower than Malta’s.
The campaign will see over 45 000 petrol
stations across Europe participating in the
campaign, distributing millions of leaflets on
fuel efficiency and environmentally responsible
driving behaviour.
Enemalta – Malta’s petrol distributor – is not
a member of the EC’s partner organisation
– Europia, nor the latter’s cooperating partner
in the campaign, the National Oil Industry
Associations. Both organisations represent
private oil and fuel companies, but given
Enemalta’s lasting monopoly in the sector
means no such companies currently operate
in Malta’s petrol market.

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NEWS
7

NEWS
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8 lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM

Israel oil company considers building petrochemical
and biofuel plants in Ashdod
Paz oil, Israel‘s second-largest energy company, may build petrochemical, biofuel
and desalination plants on the unused land at a petroleum refinery, Chief
Executive officer Yona Fogel said
Paz is weighing the options for its 275-acre
site in the Mediterranean port city of Ashdod,
Fogel said. The company plans to spend NIS
800 million (US $232 million) this year to
upgrade the refinery, double the capacity of
an electric-power cogeneration plant to almost
100 megawatts and add filling stations to its
chain, he said. Paz became the country’s
only integrated oil company after buying the
Ashdod refinery from the government in 2006.
Its chain of 261 gasoline stations is the biggest
in the nation. Paz is also Israel’s biggest
operator of roadside convenience stores and
supplies fuel to the Palestinian Authority in
the West Bank.
“Our plans for the refinery are huge,” Fogel
said in an interview from the Netanya, Israel
headquarters. “We are looking at many possibilities
for using the refinery’s land to optimize
operations and to better utilize existing
infrastructure.” He declined to give details
for the expansion plan. Paz has a 26 percent
share of Israel’s retail energy market.
ENI selects dresser Wayne for the supply and
service of site management system
dresser Wayne announced that it has signed a three year contract with Italian
fuel retailer ENI to provide supplies, installation and service of the site managements
system, EuroSinp, to service stations operating under the AGIP brand
“We are pleased to expand our strong partnership
with ENI further with this agreement”
says Mirko Spagnolatti, European Product
Manager for Systems in Dresser Wayne.
“With the new agreement we move the systems
standardization in Europe to the next
level, by introducing a common forecourt
controller, the Nucleus Forecourt server and
a standard retail hardened hardware platform
from IBM. To ensure maximum reliability
and security EuroSinp is continuously updated
with the forefront of technology from
Microsoft Windows Embedded for Point of
Sale operating system (WEPOS), Microsoft
SQL Server 2005, and new software features
developed with the latest Microsoft NET
technologies”.
As part of the agreement, Dresser Wayne will
provide stations operating under the Agip
Kenyan state offers to buy Caltex
brand with the Eurosinp site management
solution. This solution allows for management
of the entire site, from point of sale to head
office interface. Regardless of the size of the
site Eurosinp is engineered to maximize uptime
and improve efficiency. Dresser Wayne
is ENI’s only total solutions provider with
contracts in place for dispensers, terminals,
systems, CNG and service.
Dresser Wayne also announced recently the
first installation of it‘s Global Ovation fuel
dispenser in the UK, operated by Spring
Petroleum. An enthusiastic Farook Asmal,
one of Spring Petroleum’s owners, said “The
Global Ovation design looks fantastic on our
forecourt and our customers are delighted
to operate this easy to approach, easy to use
dispenser. It offers us the right combination
of configurability and advanced promotional
The Government of Kenya is in talks with America’s Chevron corporation to buy
its Kenyan fuel marketing business for Sh 3 billion. (US $ 48.4 million)
The takeover bid for the business, which trades
under the name Caltex in Kenya, comes at a
time when the US multinational is planning to
exit from Africa. The company’s operations are
spread over 10 African countries. The Kenyan
and Ugandan operations are up for sale as a
joint unit, putting the Government’s bid for
the local business at a disadvantage against
international and national oil companies that
are said to be pursuing the deal to grow their
market shares in the region. Energy Permanent
Secretary Patrick Nyoike said the Kenya
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Car ownership in the country – at as little as
340 per 1 000 people, compared with as many
as 600 in Europe – leaves room for further
growth, Fogel said. The amount of gasoline
sold per station in Israel is almost twice the
European level on average. Paz plans to add
more of its Yellow convenience stores next to
filling stations to generate additional sales,
Fogel said. The company may also open more
stand-alone Yellow shops after starting its first
in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzilya. Paz may bid
in a tender this month to operate the stores in
train stations, the executive added.
Fogel joined Paz in October from Bank Leumi
Le-Israel, the country’s second-biggest bank by
assets, which owns a 16 percent stake in Paz.
Outside of Israel, Paz is seeking to acquire
a European company with interests in refining,
filling stations, or convenience stores, or
some combination of these businesses, Fogel
said. Paz prefers a market “close” to Israel
because of the lower cost of transporting fuel
and petroleum products from the Ashdod
refinery, he added.
technologies for our forecourt,“We want to provide
our consumers with the most convenient
fueling experience and the Global Ovation
offers us the means to accomplish this whilst
supporting our business objectives.”
Comments Paul de la Port, Dresser Wayne
UK & Ireland Managing Director “The Global
Ovation is the result of years of work and
comprehensive research on consumer behavior.
In many ways, it marks the beginning of a new
era in retail fueling. Retailers have a new way
to reach their customers through innovative
tools that ultimately help to grow their businesses
and lower their operating costs.”
dresser exhibiting at last month’s exhibition in poland.
Government’s bid was facing stiff competition
from other top private sector contenders
who are eyeing both operations. “We have
asked them to unbundle the two operations
to enable us to bid for the Kenyan operation
in which we are interested,” Mr Nyoike said.
“Our other option is to go into a hybrid kind
of arrangement,” Mr Nyoike added. The array
of potential private buyers have made the sale
difficult for the Government.
NEWS
9

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protecting your liquid assets

ALTERNATIVEFUEL NEws
New alliance will benefit UK biofuels industry
A new partnership has been formed in the UK to help it’s North-Eastern biofuels
industry become an international hub for the sector and achieve its goal of being
worth £ 1 billion to the regional economy by 2027
The North-East Process Industries Cluster
(Nepic) and North- East Biofuels (NEB) have
formed a £ 1.7 million three-year alliance to
help deliver the region´s biofuels strategy.
The document, launched last year by regional
development agency One NorthEast (One),
outlines the significant opportunities for
the region´s biofuels cluster, which has the
potential to supply the global market and
attract international investment.
Ian Williams, One’s director of business and
industry, said: “North-East England has the
potential to be one of the only European hubs
capable of supplying the global market and
attracting major investment – but it is still a
young industry. We need strong leadership
and expertise to build the capacity that will
be needed in our production infrastructure
and supply chains. “By bringing together the
different strengths and areas of expertise of
Nepic and NEB to deliver the strategy, the
region is in the strongest possible position
to deliver on the strategy and seize on this
opportunity for our economy.”
Hungrana to triple bioethanol capacity
Hungary‘s Hungrana, Europe‘s largest maize processor, has more than tripled its
bioethanol capacity in an EUR 100 million investment in Szabadegyháza, central
Hungary
Attila Lengyel, Managing Director of Hungrana,
said the enlarged capacity, planned to reach
150 000 tonnes a year, would already be enough
for Hungary to meet the European Union’s
target for a 10 percent bioethanol content in
vehicle fuel by 2020. Hungrana has also started
preparations for the full utilisation of by-products
and wastewater in biogas production. According
to preliminary calculations, the biogas plant
would be able to supply 25–30 percent of the
company’s energy needs. Hungrana started
marketing its GreenPower E85 renewable fuel,
which contains 14 percent petrol, 2 percent
denaturants and 84 percent bioethanol made
from corn, less than a year ago, opening the
door for FFVs (Flexi Fuel Vehicles) in Hungary.
Currently, a total of 15 filling stations sell E85
and the company is in talks with other fuel
retailers to make E85 available elsewhere.
Hungrana plans to make this fuel available at
100–150 petrol stations within a year. Hungrana
is a joint venture (50–50 percent) of Austria’s
Agrana International and US-UK Eaststarch
(Tate & Lyle and ADM).
Atlas Copco invests in environmental technology
Atlas Copco owned Intermech ltd, New zealand, a world pioneer and exporter of
clean fuel CNG (compressed natural gas) compressors, is expanding its environmental
footprint with the opening of its new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art factory
A vehicle fuelled with CNG emits a carbon
footprint that is less by a quarter of a petrol or
diesel vehicle, and thus represents a viable, lowemission
energy source for metropolitan centers,
especially those with high-density populations.
“This investment further enhances Atlas Copco’s
commitment to environmental-friendly
technologies,” says Ronnie Leten, President
of Atlas Copco’s business area Compressor
Technique. “It also strengthens Intermech’s
position in the fast growing CNG market and
allows us to better serve the needs of our customers.”
The investment in the 3 000-square
meter, environmentally certified factory will
enable Intermech’s 80 employees to immediately
increase production capacity by 200 percent
and slash order-to-delivery times from nine to
three months. Product development will be
also be enhanced with the expansion of the
company’s research and development division
which is also located at the new premises.
Intermech designs, manufactures, and markets
a range of compressed natural gas (CNG)
compressors and related equipment used at
filling stations for vehicles fuelled with natural
gas. Atlas Copco acquired Intermech in 2005
in response to the increasing global demand
for alternative transport fuels. The company
operates under the Oil-free Air division of the
Compressor Technique business area.
Blue Sun Biodiesel
continues to open retail
fueling locations
Blue Sun Biodiesel has announced that
it continues to open retail fueling locations
through the western US.
Michael Miller, president and COO of Blue
Sun Biodiesel, said: “Blue Sun Fusion exceeds
all ASTM specifications, so drivers know they
have the highest quality fuel available. Our
Fusion fuel outperforms other B20 fuels on the
market because our superior quality ensures
the fuel is the cleanest on the market.”
Using Blue Sun Fusion B20 fuel, compared
to regular petroleum diesel, reduces carbon
monoxide 24 percent, hydrocarbons 29 percent
and nitrogen oxides 4 percent, according to the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Alternative
Fuel
news
Sekab introduces verified
sustainable ethanol
Sweden-based Sekab has introduced
verified sustainable ethanol in the Swedish
fuel market. This ethanol, which is
produced from Brazilian sugarcane, is
reportedly quality assured from environmental,
climate and social perspectives
Sekab, together with Brazilian cane producers,
has developed criteria that cover the entire
lifecycle of ethanol, from the sugarcane fields
to its use in flexi-fuel cars. The criteria for
verification are reportedly in line with demands
highlighted in the ongoing processes being led
by organizations like the UN, EU, ILO and
a number of non-governmental organizations.
The requirements have zero tolerance towards
child labor, non-organized working conditions
and the destruction of rain forests. There are
also requirements concerning working conditions,
labour laws and wages. The company
noted that only 30 percent of harvesting is
currently mechanized and is expected to
be fully mechanized by 2014. Sekab claims
to deliver about 90 percent of all ethanol in
Sweden for use in E85 and ED95 ethanol for
heavy vehicles.
lATEST AlTERNATIvE FUEl NEWS – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM 11

SHoP SPoT
12
ROMANIA – Celebrating 150 years in the oil business
Shop Spot
Romania was the first country in the world
with an oil production in excess of 275 tonnes,
officially registered in the international statistics
of 1857, followed by the United States
in 1859, Italy in 1860, Canada in 1862 and
Russia in 1863. Having the largest petroleum
reserves in Eastern Europe, Romania was
a major producer and exporter throughout
the twentieth century and it’s oil extraction
industry, developed primarily by German,
United States, British, and Dutch companies,
was the forerunner of the country‘s
belated industrialization. Peak production
was reached in 1976, gradually declining in
subsequent years, as many of the country‘s
200 oil fields began nearing depletion and
discovery of new reserves waned. Over the
past few decades, Romania‘s oil production
has fallen precipitously from 252 000 barrels
per day in 1980 to 122 700 barrels in 2007,
but today Romania also produces nearly 75
percent of its own domestic Natural Gas
requirements.
With a population of just over 22 Million,
Romania, which joined the European Union
on 1 January 2007, began the transition from
Communism in 1989, with a largely obsolete
industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited
to the country‘s needs. The country
emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year
recession thanks to strong demand in EU
export markets. Domestic consumption and
investment have fueled strong GDP growth
in recent years. Inflation rose in 2007 for the
first time in eight years. Romania hopes to
adopt the euro by 2014. Major manufacturing
industries in Romania centre around
electric machinery and equipment, textiles
and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly,
mining, timber, construction materials,
metallurgy, chemicals, food processing and
of course petroleum refining. Unemployment
currently stands at 4.1 percent.
In the retail petroleum sector, three companies
dominate the Romanian market and utilise
their own refining and storage facilities. The
former state company Petrom, now owned by
OMV, has 553 company owned sites. Lukoil,
the Russian oil company giant has just over
300 sites and Rompetrol, which in recent
years has taken huge steps in developing it’s
retail networks in Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Moldova and in France through Dyneff, has
296 company owned and dealer operated sites.
In Romania, petrol consumption is expected
to rise by as much as 7 percent in 2008 and
all three major retailers are carrying out major
investment programmes to modernize their
retail facilities and improve the services they
offer to their customers.
On a recent visit to Bucharest, Nick Needs
discovered that in some cases, petrol and
diesel is still bought by customers demonstrating
a brand preference. One taxi driver
claimed that he always bought a particular
brand of diesel because a few years earlier
one oil company had water in it’s fuel. At a
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restaurant in downtown Bucharest, a girl in
her 20’s declared that she and her friends
routinely use a particular oil company because
it’s unleaded petrol is far superior to that of
other brands. Could it be that they know
something we don’t?
To get a better general understanding of the
Romanian retail petroleum market, erpecnews
profiles two of the major three, Petrom and
Rompetrol. Nick Needs, reports.
Eric Kish
Vice President of Retail
at Rompetrol

a rompetrol site in Bucharest with a tokheim pump in the foreground
showing the ‘Fill & Go’ terminal.
Rompetrol – Winning hearts and minds
Meeting up with Eric Kish, Vice President of
Retail at Rompetrol, is all you have to do to
fully understand where the drive from this
high performing retail operator comes from.
Glancing at his watch and then looking back
at me with a smile, he says “You have 15
minutes”. I was, armed with enough questions
for at least two hours and he had stopped me
right in my tracks. Somehow though I knew
that as long as the interview was going OK, I
would get more time. In the end he gave me
45 minutes which was great.
Rompetrol was originally set up in 1974 as the
international service arm for the Romanian oil
industry, but it was acquired in 1993, through
a management and employees buyout, becoming
the first such company to be privatised in
Romania. One of the reasons Rompetrol has
been so successful, is the speed at which it
has been able to turn it’s business around.
Buying one bankrupt refinery in 1999 and a
second one in 2001, meant it being able to
move forward with a clean slate, unhindered
by historic baggage. Whilst Rompetrol has
made some private acquisitions of petrol stations
over the last nine years, most of their
115 company owned sites, which together with
their 181 partner stations make up their retail
network in Romania, have been built from
new. Outside of Romania, Rompetrol has 20
company owned and 37 partner stations in
Bulgaria, 21 company owned sites in Georgia,
810 partner sites in Moldovia and 200 Dyneff
stations in France.
Since 2007, Eric has been responsible for the
integration of all downstream, retail planning
and marketing operations carried out in all
countries where Rompetrol is present. Prior
to joining the company eight years ago, Eric
had a 12 year expatriate career with the Tetra
Wi-Fi in all hei stores attracts
many businessmen for coffee.
Pak Group in Sweden, ELWE Electrical
Equipment in Germany and Eshed Robotec
Industrial Automation in Israel, Hong Kong,
Holland and the US.
Eric is clearly an inspiration to the people who
work with him and one of these people who
talks and everyone listens. When he said to
me that he has never read a book which says it
cannot be done, you begin to get the measure
of the man who wants to make Rompetrol one
of the top ten retailers in Europe over the
next 10 years. He believes in working
with local people wherever
possible and
claims that
employees
a r e l e s s
enthusiastic
about working
for multi-national
companies than they
were. “The future is
not about winning bat- tles and
territories, it is about winning hearts and
minds and Rompetrol’s future growth is in
the retail experience we give our customers
and the innovative services we can offer
them” he says.
An excellent example of the modern shopping
experience Eric wants all his customers to
have, can be seen at any of the 68 hei convenience
stores and fast food restaurants on
Rompetrol sites up and down the country. A
state of the art design with a welcoming, well
lit and fresh looking shopping area is the key
to this modern store and restaurant, which
comes complete with wi-fi facilities for the
business traveller. Hot and fresh fast food options
are available on a varied menu and the
store has a comprehensive range of products
and services. Another 20 hei stores will be
built this year, as a minimum.
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Smart, fresh looking, comprehensive ranges of products and, attractive
well lit displays, makes all the difference at hei stores
SHoP SPoT
On the forecourt, an innovative proposition for
Rompetrol customers, is the introduction of it’s
‘Fill & Go’, pay at the pump facility, developed
by Orpak, which is available on every site in
the network, but not on any other competitive
sites in Romania. According to Rompetrol,
the site study carried out in connection with
the ‘Fill & Go’ programme has revealed that
visitors to the shop have not diminished, but
increased, as a result of customers paying at
the pump. A ‘Fill & Go’ credit card is available
as an option which can be used to
purchase shop products as well
as fuel.
Rompetrol Downstream
in Romania
has an objective to
increase it’s market share
by 4 percent next year, in a
market which is estimated to grow
by 5–7 percent during the next 12 months.
“The growing number of car registrations
will account for much of this as a result of
improving life standards, but also transport
activities are becoming increasingly interesting
as an investment destination, assuring further
demand for petrol products” said Eric.
Expansion plans outside of Romania will
centre on Bulgaria and France. Dyneff will
continue to roll out the Rompetrol brand
and modernise it’s retail network in France,
looking at more up to date shops and having
competitively priced products on the shelves.
In France, like Romania, the retail strategy is
oriented to internal growth by enlarging the
product offering and external growth, by the
acquisition of new assets.
The building and maintenance of the network
on a day to day basis is in the hands of Adrian
Balan-Doltu, formerly with Petrom who is
Director of Engineering, a position he took
13

SHoP SPoT
14
up less than a year ago. Alongside him he has
Sorin Ganescu, Project and Logistics Manager,
Alina Nicoleta Anghel, Maintenance Manager,
Tedor Donciu, Engineering Manager and
Bogdan Iugulescu, IT Support Coordinator,
Business Applications – BU Retail. Talking
to all of them and going for lunch with two of
them, reveal that they are a strong team, sharing
a common goal, with a sense of pride which
more often than not is lost in other parts of
Europe, with the UK being no exception. Alina,
a qualified Engineer, says she has sleepless
nights sometimes when thinking about what
needs to be done, but nothing seems more
important to her than making sure that she
is on top of everything.
Alina Nicoleta Anghel,
Maintenance Manager
Adrian took me through some Q&A on day
to day stuff starting with who the main suppliers
are to Rompetrol sites, which in the
case of pumps are Tokheim. Flexible piping
is from Environ. POS systems are supplied
by Orpak. Tank measurement equipment is
OPW / Petrovend. Lighting is Philips. Signage
and totem poles are supplied exclusively by
a local company, Eltrix. Canopies and shops
are built and fitted locally. Car washes are
manufactured by Petrotec and installed by
Acma Business SRL, but the latest site was
fitted with an Aquastar system, provided by
Eurocleaner. There are only 22 Rompetrol
sites with car wash facilities in Romania as
historically, most customers choose manual
car washing to protect their vehicles from
damage. Eric Kish commented that “for car
washing to become a profitable service in
Romania, one solution would be to develop a
brand, invest in third generation equipment
and gather people dedicated to making this
business happen”
Quick questions to Adrian
Where sites do not have hei stores, what shop
facilities do you offer customers? All sites have
shops and offer coffee, but the smaller sites do
not have a restaurant.
What are your fastest selling shop products?
Rumcocos Candy, Red Bull and Kent cigarettes
Are you selling alternative fuels? Yes, biodiesel
at most of our sites.
Do you have unmanned stations. Yes, 88.
At the Rompetrol site I visited that afternoon
in Bucharest, not far from the city centre, I
was struck by the abundance of staff in the
shop and on the forecourt, some even helping
women fill up their cars. At the time I was
drawn to a quote I had seen on the Rompetrol
website earlier that day and to include it at
this point seems appropriate. “The success
and strength of our business lies first and
foremost with our staff. Therefore, if our
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About Rompetrol Group N.v
Rompetrol Group N.V. is a multinational
oil company headquartered in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands, operating in 13 countries,
and with the majority of its assets
and operations based in France, Romania,
Spain, and South-East Europe. The group
is active primarily in refining, marketing
and trading, with additional operations in
exploration and production, and other oil
industry services such as drilling, EPCM,
and transportation. TRG aims to become one
of the largest independent oil companies in
Europe and obtain a strong position in the
Black Sea and Mediterranean areas.
www.rompetrol.com
actions are dynamic, modern, creative and
experienced, it is due to the employees who
sustain our business and who can best be
Adrian Balan-Doltu,
Director of Engineering
described in thise four words.” I am sure
this quote can be attributed to Eric Kish, or
a man just like him!
Petrom – viva, Noroc and Pofta buna!
The Petrom Marketing Division kindly arranged
for someone to see us whilst we were
in Bucharest, as the appropriate people from
retail were not available due to an important
meeting taking place at OMV HQ in Vienna.
We carried out a straightforward Q&A session
and I spent an hour at Petrom’s Marketing
Division HQ, with Corneliu Constantinescu
– Marketing Manager Retail.
Petrom is the largest oil and gas group in
Romania, with activities in exploration and
production, refining and petrochemicals,
natural gas, as well as downstream retailing
and marketing. OMV, the Austrian based
oil company holds a 51.01 percent share
in Petrom. Key retail and downstream executives
in Petrom Downstream are Tama’s
Mayer – Head of Marketing, Peter Velichkov

– Head of Retail, Duane Runciman – Head
of Procurement, Bogdan Rapeanu – Head of
Technical Support, Adriana Anutei – Non
Fuels Manager and Alexandru Homer – Maintenance
Regional Division / Marketing.
All the following questions were submitted
in advance of my visit through the communications
department, who were pleased to
help us with this article.
How many filling stations does Petrom currently
have? At the end of March 2008, Petrom
Group operated 810 filling stations in total,
553 in Romania and 257 in the Republic of
Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia. Out of the 553
filling stations in Romania, more than 100
filling stations operate under our premium
brand, PETROMV and more than 70 run
under the OMV brand. In Bulgaria, Serbia
and Montenegru the filling stations operate
under the OMV brand. In 2008 we intend
to open approximately 75 new filling stations.
All our filling stations are company owned
and dealer operated, except for 15 which are
operated by independent retail partners.
Petrol consumption is expected to rise in
Romania. What is the main reason for this?
We expect an overall increase of 7–10 percent
in the fuel market. There are several reasons,
among which is the increased income of Romanians
and the growth of the auto pool.
How important is the non fuel side of the business
to Petrom and do you feel you are in the
best position to enhance customers shopping
experiences, or in some cases would Petrom
ever consider involving a more specialised
shop retailer in retail operations, like 7 / 11 or
maybe Tesco or Marks and Spencers like there
are in the UK and other parts of Europe? The
non fuel business is extremely important and a
big part of our investment program is directed
at this area. We have our own brand for the
PETROMV station, Viva shops and restaurants.
For Petrom, our shops run under the “Noroc“
brand and “Pofta buna!“ for restaurants. Both
brands have been developed internally to support
our effort to provide our customers with
the best services and products.
How many of Petrom’s 553 sites in Romania
have premium shop facilities? Our premium
branded sites, PETROMV, consisting of more
than 100 filling stations, have shops where fast
food and other products are available. In addition,
some of our Petrom stations have, shops
and restaurants, varying in size and products,
depending on the positioning and traffic.
Does Petrom plan to develop many new shops
in the near future? If yes, how many? All the
future modernized stations will have shops, the
size and products will depend on the business
opportunity the site offers.
What are the fastest moving non fuel products
in your filling station shops? Cigarettes and
bottled beverages.
How many Petrom sites have a car wash / jet wash?
We have 95 sites with jetwash and car wash, most
of them supplying both types of services.
Does Petrom operate a pay at the pump facility
for customers? Currently we don‘t offer this
kind of facility.
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
SHoP SPoT
Is Petrom retailing Bio-Fuels and what generally
is Petrom‘s thinking about alternative
fuels? According to Romanian legislation, we
currently sell diesel with a 3 percent biodiesel
content, which will be rising to 4 percent in
July this year.
What are the levels of ‚drive offs‘ Petrom typically
experience on their sites i.e. people who
drive off without paying for their fuel? What
steps have you taken to combat this threat?
The number of drive offs has risen in the past years,
but it is within normal limits, according to our
statistics. We have cameras on all our sites and
these cases are handled by the local Police.
Who are your preferred suppliers for Pumps,
Piping, Canopies, Car Wash, Corporate identity,
Shop build, Lighting and POS systems etc? Our
suppliers are top of the line in their field, like
Tokheim for pumps, Rol for furniture, Hauser
for cooling and Prolicht for lighting.
I would like thank Corneliu Constantinescu
for his time and Sebastian Petre for his
effort in helping to arrange this profile.
Some hot fresh bakery options on display at petrom’s Viva Shops.
15

Credit card fees
further strain petrol
stations
Petrol at US $4 a gallon might be a
burden for consumers, but it is a windfall
for credit card companies, according
to industry experts
Caught in the middle are the gas station operators,
who must pass the credit card fees on
to their anguished and angry customers. The
profits enjoyed by the credit card companies
are from hidden fees they charge retailers,
according to Ross DiBono, executive director
of the 650-member Pennsylvania Association
of Gasoline Retailers and Allied Trades. So,
retailers say, don’t blame us, blame the credit
card companies. “We’re still selling gasoline
for only 8 to 12 cents more per gallon than
we pay for it – the same margin as 15 years
ago,” DiBono said.
BP to shift 1 000 jobs
to Chicago
oil company BP has tentatively agreed
to shift 1 000 jobs from the western
suburbs to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
on Wacker drive
The jobs that are likely to be moved into the
complex include those in BP´s energy trading,
supply and marketing operations. The company
believes that the move to a downtown location
will be beneficial for these units. According to
Elaine Melonides, international director for
the real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle and a
representative of BP in its negotiations with
the property owner, Tishman Speyer Properties,
the company plans to occupy 240,000
square feet on Wacker. Valerie Corr, spokesperson
of BP, maintained that the company
has signed a non-binding letter of intent for
discussing terms. Ms Corr also revealed that
BP expects to conclude the lease agreement
in the summer of 2008.
USA NEws
ConocoPhillips to rebuild StorageTek property
into research, teaching facility
Energy giant ConocoPhillips’ purchase of a 432-acre corporate campus in louisville
boosts Colorado‘s status as a clean-energy hub
The Houston-based oil and gas company plans
to rebuild the campus into a centre to research
hydrogen fuel cells, solar and wind power
and clean diesel fuel made from renewable
resources. It also plans to establish a learning
center to train employees from more than
40 countries. “We believe this demonstrates
what we’ve been saying about the new energy
economy of Colorado,” said Gov. Bill Ritter,
announcing the deal last month, at a hastily
called news conference at the Holiday Inn
Pennsylvania to allow half-gallon pricing at
older fuel pumps
Pennsylvania governor Edward Rendell has
given permission for fuel retailers with older
fuel pumps to display half-gallon prices, with
the total cost of petrol remaining the same
This comes as gas prices have exceeded US $4
Denver International Airport. “The company
recognizes that fossil fuels will be part of our
energy future for decades to come. They are
building a bridge to the future by investing in
new, cleaner technologies and in renewable
energy.” ConocoPhillips paid US $ 58.5 million
for the campus – among the largest in the world.
It houses numerous buildings, warehouses and
manufacturing facilities, most of which will
be razed. The new campus is expected to be
completed in three or four years.
Couche-Tard and Irving expand partnership
Irving oil and convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard have announced
the expansion of their existing partnership to include 252 Irving oil
convenience retail sites across Atlantic Canada and New England
The expanded partnership will provide both
Couche-Tard and Irving Oil with opportunities
to serve more customers and to grow in the
Northeast, including the southern New England
states, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The transaction is anticipated to close in July
and is subject to standard regulatory approvals
and closing conditions.
Under the expanded partnership, 252 Irving Oil
convenience stores located in Atlantic Canada
and New England will be operated by Couche-
Tard. Of these stores, 128 are located in New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. The other
124 stores are located in Maine, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts and Vermont.
Irving Oil will retain ownership of the convenience
retail properties and Couche-Tard
will lease the properties at market value for
the next 20 years and buy the store equipment
and inventories by using internal available
cash dollars. Irving Oil will continue to supply
petroleum products to the sites. The fuel
16 lATEST USA NEWS – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
pumps and canopies at the sites will remain
Irving-branded and the stores will be operated
under a Couche-Tard brand.
Brian Hannasch, Couche-Tard’s senior vice
president of US operations, said: “Subsequent to
this transaction, Couche-Tard’s Eastern Canada
division would include a total of 693 companyoperated
stores and the Great Lakes division
would include 432 company-operated stores.
This transaction also marks Couche-Tard’s entry
into the Northeast US and Atlantic Canada and
the unique opportunity to do so with one of the
most well-recognized fuel brands and strongest
retail networks in this geography.”
Harry Hadiaris, director of the business to
consumer marketing business at Irving Oil,
said: “Expanding our existing partnership with
North American convenience retail industry
leader Couche-Tard is an exciting opportunity
for our company to create a greater platform
for growth in the Northeast and to focus on
our core business of providing clean fuels to
our customers.”
per gallon in some areas of the state. The
governor has said that older, non-digital fuel
dispensers cannot compute prices exceeding
US $3.99, making it necessary to allow halfgallon
pricing until upgrades can be made.

THE BIG INTERvIEW
‘ The Big Interview’
18
The second in our series of ‘Big Interviews’,
profiles a person who has been the driving
force behind UPP pipework provider Petro-
Technik, since it was formed in 1991. The
UPP brand, marketed by PetroTechnik and
invented by fellow Director Jan Ageheim
back in 1981, is certainly a product which
has gained international recognition for its
ground breaking work in non-corrodible
flexible pipework and containment systems.
With a list of major oil company clients as
long as your arm, including Shell, BP and
Exxon Mobil and with offices in the UK,
Australia, Brazil, France, Sweden, America,
Japan, China and soon to be India, it would
take a bigger man than me to disagree with
John that PetroTechnik are leading the market
in terms of volume and revenues achieved
across the world. The PetroTechnik Group
also incorporates international tank designer
and manufacturer Cookson & Zinn.
In the industry, John is known as being somewhat
outspoken, controversial and at times
demanding to most people he comes into
contact with, but at the same time he is one
of these people who everyone wants to talk to
and talk about when a suitable moment arises.
Like an outrageously coloured tie, the likes of
which I sometimes, where 50 percent don’t
agree with it, 50 percent love it, but everyone
notices it, John’s character and his determination
to succeed has paid huge dividends for
PetroTechnik and the people who have joined
him in his quest for worldwide polyethylene
pipe supremacy. Married to Vanessa with three
children, who have long since left home, John
John Boudry – Executive Chairman PetroTechnik Group
bases himself at PetroTechnik HQ in Ipswich
UK, which is where I went to meet him for
a chat about his career and his personal role
in PetroTechnik.
EN: How would you best describe yourself in
a professional capacity and what do you enjoy
about your work? Where do you feel your
personal qualities impact on the business in
a positive way?
JB: I am not best known for my man management
skills and I feel it is incumbent on me
to lead from the front, focused to the point
of obstinacy. I enjoy being single minded and
grasping opportunities, but my main focus has
always been in building good customer relationships.
An ability to see over the barriers, whilst
others are intent on just staring at them, is also
a side of my character which has served me well,
throughout my professional career.
EN: What is your day to day role?
JB: To interfere as little as possible with my work
colleagues jobs, but to make sure I am available
whenever I feel we may be losing focus in any
particular sector of the business.
EN: In what part of the world did you grow
up and how did your career path lead you to
PetroTechnik?
JB: The first ten years of my life were spent in
the Belgium Congo just before all the trouble
started and when it did, my Father took me and
my two brothers and sister, back to Belgium.
At school, my natural rebellious instincts were
not best suited to the strict Jesuit upbringing I
was given and this undoubtedly contributed to
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
by Nick Needs
my lack of enjoyment and success in anything
related to education.
I learned my first lesson in business, aged only
14, whilst my Father was working as a freelance
photographer in Brussels for Shell Benelux,
believe it or not. He was extremely dedicated
to his profession and every morning he would
wake me up at 4 a.m. to carry out the very boring
task of attaching photographs to the inside of
a cylindrical drying machine, a job which was
very time consuming, for little reward, but I
risked having to do it all over again if I did not
do the job properly in the first place. My Father
would inspect every photo for any kind of defect
and true to his word, if there was anything not
quite perfect, I would have to repeat the exercise
until it was. It is true to say that he never lost
a client throughout his career.
My own career started having to endure two
very uninteresting jobs with IBM and Olivetti,
prior to going to Paris in 1975, where I married
my English wife Vanessa who turned my attentions
and my professional ambitions towards
the UK, as once we were married we set up
home here. Thirty years on, three children and
several grand children later, we have lived in
the UK ever since.
Designing and installing the first double skinned
steel tank in the UK, was the first job I was
involved in which relates to what I do now and
surprisingly enough this was fitted for Buckingham
Palace of all places, by Royal approval you
might say. At the time I was working locally
for Cookson & Zinn, with whom I had two
spells, being appointed Managing Director in
1985. I stayed at Cookson & Zinn until I met
Jan Ageheim in 1991, who convinced me that

UPP was the future. Apart from the fact that
PetroTechnik bought Cookson & Zinn in 1999,
the rest as they say is history.
EN: Describe your toughest career moment?
JB: With three children at public school and an
MD’s job at CZ, I opted for the very speculative
option of building a business with PetroTechnik,
based on the potential of a non metallic product
that was not yet known outside Scandinavia.
Needless to say, my wife Vanessa had to be very
supportive, which indeed she was throughout the
early days. A hard decision though all the same.
Jan Ageheim too was extremely supportive – the
sort of friend one would “die for” if need be.
EN: What has been UPP’s biggest achievement
in it’s 27 year history.
JB: Having never lost a drop of customer product
through the high quality nature of our system and
becoming the number one pipework producer
in the world!
EN: PetroTechnik are operational in 150 countries
currently, but which part of the world has
been the most challenging to work in and do
you still enjoy all the travelling?
JB: I have never been to a country yet where
I feel that I do not want to do business, not
wishing to underestimate the difficulties which
often present themselves. Trying to understand
varying legislations and agreements in standards
and the committees through which they operate,
has always been a complex process, but one
which must be overcome if we are to succeed.
The travelling is still something I look forward
to in many cases and I particularly value the
time I spent in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil,
India, China and the US.
EN: Are there any developments in PetroTechnik
you are able to talk about which represent new
opportunities for you?
JB: Opening three new manufacturing locations
in 12 months, which is something we are currently
in the process of doing! Also, we are working
on some ground breaking product development
surrounding pipework manufacturing, which
is very much a departure from what currently
exists. But enough said about this for now.
EN: Do you have any personal ambitions outside
of work and if so what are they?
JB: Spending time with my grandchildren, fishing,
boating, supporting Ipswich Town Football
Club, following English rugby and generally
trying to make up for the lost time spent at the
office, when I should have doing things with
my own children. Visiting India and China
as a tourist is also high on my agenda when I
get a chance.
EN: Describe your music tastes and name a few
bands that you still listen to even though they
may have passed their sell by date?
JB: I have over 180 different artists on my iPod,
25 percent of which are French artists playing
music that you will probably not relate to. I call
it French thinking man’s music. I went to see
the Eagles in concert two weeks ago and they
were incredible. Generally I love music and
whilst we are on the subject, if anyone has a
copy of the Queen video of Brian May playing
the National Anthem on top of Buckingham
Palace, please contact me as I have never seen
it and I would very much like to.
EN: What stands UPP apart from other products
in the marketplace?
JB: The people behind the product, meaning
service, customer care and being there when
the client needs us.
EN: What is the secret of your success
JB: Single mindedness and remaining focused.
Thank you John. Hopefully we will see
you at erpec next March, in Italy.
A bit more about PetroTechnik
With offices in seven countries, over 100
worldwide distributors and 4 000 accredited
installers, PetroTechnik is certainly well positioned
to supply it’s products to the far corners
of the world, but during a walk around the
offices, workshops, labs and the warehouse
Lab work tests fuels against pipes one last check and this kit will be on it’s way Centre aisle of the packed warehouse at ipswich HQ pipes for a variety of applications
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
THE BIG INTERvIEW
of PetroTechnik HQ, with Sales & Marketing
Director, Stephen Maley, he feels there is a
misconception in the marketplace that Petro-
Technik does not manufacture anything.
Stephen says: “PetroTechnik is a hybrid OEM
supplier and we own most of the tools needed
for the manufacture of the UPP system. This
represents a capital investment in excess of
US $ 2 000 000. In addition, all the components
in the UPP system are designed and tested by
PetroTechnik, to provide an integrated specialist
fuel system, with a life exceeding 30 years and
don’t forget, PetroTechnik focuses exclusively
on petroleum products. PetroTechnik utilises
manufacturing partners to provide consistently
high quality components and we control the
supply of key raw materials to our various
manufacturing plants, to ensure continuous
compliance and quality of supply.”
In the labs it was interesting to see how the
UPP pipework is strength tested against
various fuels, through on-going experiments
which Stephen says are vital in order to
maintain a high degree of quality. For me,
someone who knows next to nothing about
pipework, it was interesting to see how the
computerised electrofusion system works to
create a seamless leak tight assembly between
the pipe fittings and the sumps. Also, I found
the CAD and prototyping machine, allowing
the product development teams to design and
view solid models of parts and interface them
with other UPP or third party components,
fascinating.
Moving from the workshops into the warehouse
you begin to understand the scale
of PetroTechnik’s operation, with an array
products stacked up and down this extremely
large building. Outside it is like some sort
of theme park with vast amounts of piping,
colour coded to indicate varying shapes sizes,
being sourced by operatives loading up one
of the many trucks which leave this yard on
a daily basis, bound for some far off part of
the world. I wonder where? NN
19

oNE To oNE
20
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lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
Planning
Identity
Sub-brands
erpec_ad2_H.indd 1 2/5/08 11:43:45
09
let’s talk business
A Global Business Forum for the Retail Petroleum Industry
Grand Hotel Dino | 31-03-2009 – 02-04-2009
Baveno, Lago Maggiore, Italy
Organised by
For advance details contact
McLean Events at +44 1483 810670
Media sponsor
McLean Events
www.erpec.com

The oil companies were exhibiting in force
at Poland’s annual retail petroleum trade
fair. Orlen, Lotos BP, Statoil, and Shell,
all had very significant stands aiming to
sign up more dealers to their network, or
maybe promote the wholesale side of their
businesses to an audience that generally
would have been pleased to accept some
hospitality and a chair, in return for a bit of
company spiel.
From talking to BP you do get the feeling
that they are in Poland for the long haul, with
their high end network of company owned
sites, which they say have been cherry picked
over the last 15 years, adding that the former
state owned sites were mostly bought by
Orlen and Lotos. Over 100 BP sites have a
Wild Bean Cafe, which is a good indication
as to how many of their sites BP considers
to be premium outlets.
Lotos, Project Manager of Premium Fuels,
Przemyslaw Rybka, talked to me about the
company’s move towards premium fuels
and claimed that their Dynamic Diesel can
operate at temperatures of -35 degrees. The
Lotos stand looked extremely impressive,
sandwiched between Orlen and BP, but as
the second largest retailer in Poland, this
seemed somewhat appropriate. For the record,
Lotos have no COCO sites (company owned,
company operated) 133 CODO’s (company
owned, dealer operated) 80 DOFO’s (company
owned, Franchise operated) and 100
DODO’s (Dealer owned, dealer operated),
but they are looking for more. They also have
the second biggest refinery in Poland.
Orlen’s double decker exhibition stand looked
equally impressive and they were busy all day,
but the chance to catch a word with erpec
delegate and Executive Director of Retail
Business, William Kozik, was unfortunately
not possible, as three important meetings
were taking place on the same day I attended
the show and William had to unfortunately
send his apologies.
Snapshot review
Secu-Tech and Eurotank, were 2 erpec
delegates exhibiting under their own steam
and not through a local office or a distributer.
Dagmar Höckner, Managing Director of
Secu-Tech, Security & Electronic Technologies
GmbH, said they had had some good
interest in their latest product, Multitank, a
liquid product identification system, which
is electronic tag based and prevents cross
filling or misfiling of product grades from
the refinery to final delivery on retail sites.
Director of Eurotank, Jonathan Coombes,
was just pleased to be at the event and
said he had some good enquiries for their
bio-fuel management services, their tank
and line endoscope investigations unit and
their tank and pipe cleaning and integrity
testing facilities. Miguel Silva, Petrotec’s
International Sales Director, was also spotted
on their distributer’s stand, showing off
their new range of pumps, which along with
Dresser’s Global Ovation, were a talking
point of the show.
A most interesting element to the Polish show
was seeing at least five gambling companies
with stands, trying to promote the idea of
slot machines in petrol station shops. Not
allowed in the UK and not allowed in many
countries in Europe, but it certainly is in
Poland and I am told the idea started off in
Norway in the 1990’s. The largest company
taking a stand at the show was Europlay, a
Polish company run by Managing Director
Magdalena Pietrzak, supported by Europlay
AS, Managing Director Per Inge, who founded
the Europlay brand in Norway. They say it’s
a license to print money and whilst they did
not offer any figures, it is clear that many sites
in Poland and Norway for that matter have
entertained the idea and it is working well for
them. More details at www.europlay.pl
At the front of house, a smile from the registration
staff might have made my day even
more special, but as it was I returned home
pleased with my day’s work in Warsaw. A good
exhibition and very well organised. NN
EvENT REvIEW
Petrol Station 2008, Warsaw 28–30 May
the best smile of the day goes to this lady on the Lotos stand.
the competition. Bp, Lotos and orlen all lined up together.
the Europlay team, gambling with the polish market.
by Nick Needs
dagmar Höckner of Secu-tech demonstrating MuLti tank.
lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM 21

ERPEC UPdATE
+ + + TECHNOLOGY UPDATE + + + NEWS
Every month from now until March next year we will be inviting erpec delegates to update us with any news, product developments
or even industry gossip that they would like to share with the rest of us and we are starting off with the technology
and PoS companies who were invited submit something suitable. This section is not a review the activities surrounding the
companies mentioned, nor is it a comphrensive listing of all the companies at erpec in the above category, it is simply a
news update from a selection of the technology suppliers, who wished to submit something for this page. All editorial is
supplied and written by the companies concerned.
Scheidt & Bachmann have developed
a dispenser series which can be operated as
“The smallest Petrol Station in the world”. The
concept of this future orientated dispenser is
to serve and manage a complete petrol station
with one system. The customer is guided
through the whole fuelling process by means
of a multimedia screen. The display, designed
to be read easily in bright sunlight, shows the
latest news and traffic reports keepingcustomers
up-to-date with important information. The
operator can get additional benefit by means of
displaying advertisements on the multimedia
screen. www.scheidt-bachmann.de
Hectronic now have PetroPoint, a system
for automatic vehicle recognition. Wireless
transfer of all the relevant data is fast and easy
for the driver. Without any further operation,
the authorisation and pump release, as well as
storage and management of the fuel data are
run off in seconds. In addition, information
about odometer readings or operating hours
can be transferred, which for their part serve as
basic data for servicing, inspections, fuel and
lubricant consumption incurred. PetroPoint
also prevents the wrong fuel being put into a
vehicle. www.hectronic.com
Fuelmatics are now offering a revolutionary
Drive-Thru refuelling system for increased
throughput at stations and heightened customer
satisfaction.The driver remains inside
the car during the entire refuelling process,
while the automat takes care of the entire
refuelling process, including opening of the
fuel door and insertion of the nozzle. The
Fuelmatics concept means a ‘business booster’
which attracts more customers to sites due
to increased speed, convenience, safety and
clean handling. With more refuelling per
hour, the cost per refuelling will be reduced
– an increase in retail efficiency. The system
provides the most environmentaly friendly
refuelling concept available as the refuelling
is made in a closed fuel transfer system.
www.fuelmatics.com
FAFNIR Wet stock Automation played a
major role in the fuel retail industry during
the past years and led to a strong requirement
of the FAFNIR VISY-X ATG product range,
currently installed in more than 60 countries,
due to it’s best in class quality, modularity and
performance. VISY-RFT wireless transmitters
and receivers also triggered a massive retrofitting
exercise on sites not having a conduit
infrastructure. To facilitate the increasing leak
detection / prevention needs of the industry,
FAFNIR completed the development of a
full range of environmental sensors this year.
www.fafnir.de
FuelQuest Announces Version 5.0 of Its
Fuel Management System.FuelQuest, Inc. has
introduced a new release of its petrol supply
chain optimization solution, Fuel Management
System (FMS) 5.0. FuelQuest’s new release
is focused on improving the economics of
fuel procurement and further automating the
interaction between fuel suppliers, carriers,
buyers and retailers. FMS 5.0 provides greater
visibility, accuracy and timeliness to petrol
cost and margin calculations enabling better
decision making and business profitability.
This capability includes precisely calculating
and reporting net landed cost for each
petrol delivery in real-time. The new release
strengthens the supply network interaction by
enhancing vendor managed inventory, carrier
22 lATEST NEWS, EvENTS, JoBS oNlINE – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
dispatch acknowledgement, and threshold-based
automatic notification escalation. Version 5.0
is in deployment with major petrol retailers,
fleets and transportation companies.
www.fuelquest.com
Tokheim Systems & Electronics
Business Unit (SEBU). Tokheim is
moving with their selected systems of choice,
the Fuel POS (Retail Automation Solution) &
the Crypto VGA (Outdoor Payment Solution)
to Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Africa and
China. Tokheim has invested in new technologies
such as SQlite, NET & UNICODE.
Tokheim is able to package the required solution
in the most economical way whilst respecting
the standard approvals such MID, PCI and
PCI-DSS. With Crypto VGA, Tokheim has
a fully PCI-POS, EMV allows the product to
be packaged in a range of housings available
for outdoor payment (OPT, DIT, CRIND,
OPT / BNA, Retrofit head). Combined with
standard T2H or H2H (bank, fleet, credit) connections
based on ISO IFSF 8583, or APACS,
is ideal to meet the business requirements of
our customers and the markets we currently
operate in. www.tokheim.com
NCR New Satellite Server. New enhanced
Graphical User Interface - follow activities of
unmanned stations, interact if needed. Support
for Local Back Up – install a PC or POS
at the unmanned stations for local back up.
Support of +100 Satellites and possible to run
2 Satellite Servers on the same Management
PC. e-Product Server produces electronic items
– the main benefits of converting physical items
to electronic items are, reduced logistic cost
(no physical stocking nor transport), reduced
fraud (items can be traced from the supplier
to the customer), reduced / eliminated need
for stock (central stock / on-line delivery on
demand is possible. www.ncr.com
ORPAK A new solution from Orpak is a
web based version of the Fleet Head Office
Server, enabling on-line and off-line activity,
setting refuelling limits and restrictions per
vehicle, tag or card. Log-in set limits and
generate reports. Supports multiple fleet activities,
eases accounting and billing activity.
www.orpak.co.il

Important diary dates
2008 – MAY To oCToBER
17-06-2008 – 19-06-2008
Marbella, Spain
16-09-2008 – 21-09-2008
Frankfurt, Germany
18-09-2008, during automechanika
Frankfurt, Germany
05-10-2008 – 07-10-2008
Chicago, USA
24-09-2008 – 26-09-2008
Seoul, Korea
28-10-2008 – 30-10-2008
Moscow, Russia
23-10-2008
Telford, UK
2009 – MARCH
PetroForum UK 2008
A two day event for UK forecourt retail market. Details at www.downstream-events.com
automechanika 2008
An international meeting point for the retail petroleum industry.
Details at www.automechanika.messefrankfurt.com
lATEST EvENTS – WWW.PETRolPlAzA.CoM
dIARY dATES
Industry gala dinner at automechanika
Evening event for the retail petroleum marketplace, offering suppliers and their customers an
ideal location to dine out and network on the Thursday night during automechanika.
Details at www.petrolplaza.com
PEI Convention at the NACS Show
The annual American petroleum experience which this year is back in most people’s favourite
location, Chicago. Details at www.pei.org
Autocomplex 2008
A major motor trade exhibition which features a section on petrol station services and
equipment. Details at www.autocomplex-online.com
31-03-2009 – 02-04-2009
Baveno, lago Maggiore, Italy The international meeting forum held every two years for oil companies and global suppliers
serving the European retail petroleum industry. Details at www.erpec.com
2009 – MAY
20-05-2009 – 24-05-2009
Bologna, Italy
Just one of the islands you can see from the
Hotel Gran dino, venue for erpec 09
21st world lPG gas forum
The Forum is widely recognized as the premium annual global event in the LP Gas Industry,
regularly attracting around 700 participants and hundreds of external visitors from more
than 50 countries.
Association of Petroleum Explosives Administration 2008
The annual APEA gathering celebrates its 50th year. Details at www.downstream-events.com
autopromotec 2009
Italy‘s largest exhibition of products and support services for the automotive industry taking
place at the Bologna Trade Fair Center. Details at www.autopromotec.it
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