petronas build another 74 stations in 2012 nigerian ... · nigerian marketers resort to blackmail...

Nigerian marketers resort to blackmailPetroleum marketers issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to pay all out-standing claims on petroleum subsidy or they will shut down fuel stations nation-wide. The Federal Government accused petroleum mar-keters who were indicted by the Aig-Imouk-huede Committee on Subsidy Payments of hoarding fuel to put pressure on the authori-ties to withdraw the charges against them.

Manila inspects flooded fuel stationsThe Department of Energy visited various fuel stations in Manila to test fuel for possible contamination due to massive flooding in the metropolis. Personnel from the DOE took samples of diesel and gasoline to be tested in their laboratory for water contamination. Celso Bagabaldo, senior science research specialist of the DOE said that at first glance, the samples taken look pure and uncontaminated. He said they will still take samples to the laboratory for further testing.

Chevron want 522 stations by 2015Chevron Malaysia operating under the Caltex brand, have opened 100 new stations towards the 522 planned by 2015. The company is on the lookout for local entrepreneurs to establish, own and operate the stations.

Petronas build another 74 Stations in 2012

Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB), the retail arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), has allocated about 200 million Malaysian

ringgits in capital expenditure to build 74 petrol stations nationwide this year. “We have 977 stations nationwide currently and expect to have more than 1 000 by year-end”, said PDB Retail Business Division Senior General Manager Akbar Thayoob. So far we have never built that many but we’re on an aggressive network expansion. This will allow us to reach each and every corner of the country and we expect to surpass 1 000 stations not later than October”, Thayoob added.

Bharat and Hindustan Petroleum oppose proposalsBharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have voiced their opposition to Indian Oil Com-pany’s proposal to move to a self-controlled oil price system, describing it as a backwards step. The move by India’s largest oil company comes shortly after the government relinquished control of its price-setting powers. “Inflation is high and we understand the government’s position. We don’t want the customers to suffer”, said Indian Oil Chairman and Managing Director

RS Butola. Despite being in the same position and experiencing the same cause-and-effect consequences as its rival, Bharat Petroleum has a different opinion. “If you bring petrol back under the administered pricing mechanism, for a long time pricing remains static. The inten-tion should be to move towards market-driven price rather than going for regulation, which in my opinion is a retrograde step”, explained RK Singh, Bharat Chairman and Managing Director.

Sri Lanka demands locally refined fuelSri Lanka’s Minister of Petroleum Industries, Susil Premajayantha, has instructed Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited – Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s (CPC) fuel distribu-tion arm – to only provide locally refined fuel to state enterprises buying large volumes from the company. Enterprises covered by

the instruction include the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Sri Lanka Railway andthe Sri Lanka Transport Board. The state companies will be provided with fuel from CPC’s petroleum refinery in Sapugaskanda. The company says it has taken steps to deliver the correct fuel to these companies in future.

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Chevron uneasy with unbranded stationsChevron’s Asia-Pacific general manager for sales and marketing has announced that Chevron Philippines Inc., one of the coun-try’s oil majors, is looking at building at least 250 fuel stations in the Philippines in the next five years. Ahmed confirmed that Chevron plans to expand their retail network across

Asia. “We have a network of 2 000 sites across Asia and we are looking to add 500 in the next four to five years and the large part of that is going to come to the Philippines.” At the same time, Ahmed added, they are looking for new investors to partner with and help them grow their network in the Philippines.

Puma reassures KenolKobil staffPuma Energy has said that it will retain all of KenolKobil’s staff if it manages to complete its takeover of the company and said that its track record of takeovers and staff reten-tion should be enough to calm any of the petroleum marketing company’s fears. The company issued a statement after several KenolKobil employees attempted to block the

deal through a court case, claiming that their jobs would be terminated if the merger went ahead. “Puma Energy has rapidly grown over the previous years through organic growth and by buying the downstream assets of Exxon, BP and Chevron.” Puma also said that it has no intention of bringing in extra staff from Switzerland.

Numaligarh refinery to exit retail marketingWith losses from its retail business mounting gradually, affecting the company’s bottom-line every year, Assam, India, based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has finally decided to exit from the retail marketing business. All its 74 ‘Energy Stations’, as its retail outlets are called, will be handed over to its parent company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). However, though BPCL would take over the operations of the retail outlets, the branding, which contains NRL logo, would remain the same. BPCL is the majority

stakeholder in NRL with 61.65 percent stake, followed by OIL (26 percent stake) and Assam government (12.35 percent stake).

Pakistan and India fail to strike dealAs Pakistan wants to meet only 20percent to 25percent of its needs for petroleum products from India to avoid overreliance on the old rival, the two countries have failed to seal a deal. At present, Pakistan has a long-term oil supply agreement with Kuwait Petroleum Cor-poration. However Pakistan is only interested

in meeting additional oil requirements from India and will continue to import the majority of its’ oil requirements from Gulf countries, including Kuwait. Pakistan consumes 6.9 mil-lion tons of diesel per year, of which 3.2 to 3.4 million tons is produced domestically and the rest is imported.

eastern Petroleum expands in PhilippinesFuel retailer Eastern Petroleum Corp. (EPC) expects sales revenues to improve in the second half of the year partly due to the opening of fuel stations in the southern part of the country. The company is also set to open new service stations in many areas. As part of the company’s retail and logistics expansion program Eastern Petroleum will

continue to acquire properties in strategic areas. 30 new sites have been identified and are expected for completion in the first half of 2013. The expansion program forms part of Eastern Petroleum’s 500 million peso capital expenditure program for 2012, which will be funded through internally generated funds and bank borrowings.

Myanmar grant 500 licenses to private fuel stationsMyanmar will allow leading domestic private companies to open 529 fuel stations in the country in order to facilitate the distribution of fuel. Private companies including Max, Htoo, Shwe Taung, Lwe Hein, have applied

to the Ministry of Energy for setting up the fuel stations. The authorization of more fuel stations will bring the total to over 900 alongside measures to crack down on black market sale of fuels.


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PSo becomes Pakistan’s first trillion rupee companyBoard of Management of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) announced performance for year ended 30th June 2012, in which it achieved a major milestone by becoming Pakistan’s first company with revenues exceeding a trillion rupees. For the year ended 30th June 2012, PSO’s revenue exceeded 1 199 billion rupee as compared to 975 billion rupee in FY11, representing 23 percent growth. It announced after tax earnings of 9.06 billion rupee in

FY12 as compared to 14.78 billion rupee in last year. Profitability was severely impacted by rapid devaluation of Pak rupee along with reduction in inventory gains. These losses absorbed improvement in margins of Furnace Oil and HSD along with recovery of financial income from power sector. Further, financial cost resulting from accumulation of highest ever receivables continue to constrain both profitability and liquidity of PSO.

AdNoC to provide consultancy servicesAdnoc Distribution, the retail arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has signed an agreement with Saudi-based Al Olaibi Company, which will see ADNOC provide consultancy services for managing and operating petrol stations in Saudi Arabia. The deal is seen as a first step towards providing a franchise system for Al Olaibi company. In a statement Adnoc confirmed that the agreement

goes hand-in-hand with the company’s strategy to expand the construction and operation process of fuel stations in the UAE through an exchange of its technical expertise in operating fuel stations outside the UAE. The agreement was signed by Abdullah Salem Al Daheri, General Manager of Adnoc distribu-tion and Eid Abdul Hadi Al Olaibi, Director General of Al Olaibi Company.

refineries to produce cleaner fuelsTwo South African crude oil refineries, Sapref in Durban and Natref in Sasolburg, are in line for costly modifications in anticipation of the country’s move towards cleaner fuels. The government wants to introduce clean fuels with effect from July 2017. Environmental health and air quality improvement are the main motivations. Sapref said it would carry out modifications to several existing units

and build two new process units. Detailed engineering work was expected to take place next year. Construction is planned to start in 2014 and should be completed mid-2017. Sapref is a joint venture between Shell SA Refining and BP Southern Africa and is the largest crude oil refinery in Southern Africa, with 35 percent of SA’s refining capacity. It processes 24 000 tons of crude oil a day.

Celanese to cooperate with PertaminaCelanese Corporation “Celanese’s TCX® Technology can help Indonesia meet its grow-ing demand for affordable, locally-sourced, high quality and safe transportation fuel. High-octane fuel ethanol produced using TCX® Technology would help improve air quality through the reduction of particulate matter as well as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emissions”, said Steven Sterin, Chief Financial Officer and President of Cela-nese’s Advanced Fuel Technologies business.

“These projects support many of the Indo-nesian government’s long-term objectives for the use of its abundant local resources to drive economic development, reduce imported energy requirements and improve environmental and air quality standards. We are delighted to work with Pertamina to further develop this opportunity within Indonesia and look forward to working closely with them to bring many benefits to the country.” Sterin said.

fears for fuel supply at Caltex AustraliaAustralia’s peak motoring body fears Caltex’s decision to shut its Kurnell site has left the country exposed to fuel supply risks and price volatility. Caltex will shed more than 330 jobs as the Kurnell site in Sydney is transformed into a simple fuel import facility over the next two years. The closure follows a recent decision by Shell to shut its refinery at Clyde. Caltex decision will leave Sydney without an oil refinery. Seri-ous questions are now being asked about

the security of Australian fuel supplies and the potential flow-on effects at the bowser. To ensure an uninterrupted flow of petrol into Australia, Caltex has teamed up with Chevron. Under the agreement, Chevron will procure and supply to Caltex imported product from Singapore at market-based prices. Caltex says its decision to close the Kurnell refinery is based purely on economics, having lost $ 208 million on refining operations in 2011.

taiwan’s CPC open fuel stations in ChinaCPC Corp., Taiwan, has been assess-ing the possibil ity of joining hands with its Chinese counterpart China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) to open 200 fuel stations in South Eastern China, according to the Taiwanese com-pany. Most gasoline and diesel needed in South Eastern China is transported great distances and high costs from North Eastern China and shipping petroleum products from Taiwan will make it more price competitive than rivals in the market. CPC directors said that the ‘partnership’ remains on the drawing board for the time being awaiting approval by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. But if it goes forward is expected to generate sales turnover of about 40 billion Taiwan dollars for both sides.

engen keeps its top brand placeIn South Afrca Engen began its reign at the top in 2011, after taking joint first place with BP in 2010. Joe Mahlo, GM: Engen Sales & Marketing, says manage-ment is enormously pleased with the sustained success of its brand strategy.

“As we keep reminding ourselves, staying on top is a little harder than reaching the top, so we’re honoured by motorists’ continued endorsement of our service and offerings.” Pierre Roodt, Engen’s Retail Marketing Manager, says the company will continue to build on its winning strategy of tailoring its approach and offerings to its various market segments. “In addition, we’ve identified customer service as a key determinant of success in our industry, so we’ll continue to focus on training of forecourt staff.”

Kuwait to construct largest oil refineryAfter years of delays the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) looks as though it will finally go ahead with plans to build the Middle East’s largest oil refinery. Five international engineering firms have submitted tenders to win the project management and consultancy contract for the Al-Zour refinery, includ-ing US-based Foster Wheeler and Fluor Corp, Australia’s WorleyParsons, France’s Technip and Britain’s Amec. The refinery will process 615 000 barrels of crude a day, cost an estimated $ 14.5 billion to construct and start operation in 2018.


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Q8 establish 110 eco-friendly sitesChief Operating Officer and Managing Direc-tor at Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8) Esam Al-Marzouq has revealed that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Italy is embarking on a project to establish 110 industrial sites that would be eco-friendly and free of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Speaking to the Q8 Published Alam Al-Muasasa (Corporation World) magazine, Al-Marzouq said the company was very eager to develop such projects to achieve

environmental sustainability, adding that the to-be-established sites would be working on solar energy to decrease dependency on fossil fuels. Al-Marzouq indicated that using solar energy would also lessen consumption of electricity at the sites by 13 percent, adding that this complies with the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Al-Marzouq revealed that CO2 emissions would be decreased by 7 600 tons on an annual basis.

Sonatrach to import 2.5 million tonnes of fuelAlgeria’s national energy company has said that it expects the country to import around 2.5 million tonnes of fuel this year, 200 000 more than last year, putting more pressure on Sonatrach to produce more fuel to in order keep up with demand. Algeria used up 2.3 mil-lion tonnes of imported oil last year – a bill of more than $ 2 billion for Sonatrach. The

exporter now says that it is keen to redevelop the country’s aging refineries so it can boost capacity and end the country’s reliance on foreign imports. It says it aims to increase the country’s refining capacity to 52 million tonnes per year. At present, the refineries are capable of churning out 22 million tonnes of refined fuel per year.

Indonesia miss targets for conversionThe government’s highly touted program to convert official vehicles to natural gas from gasoline and diesel fuel is likely to miss all its targets this year. Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Rudi Rubiandini said that the government was still in the process of procuring 15 000 conversion kits targeted for distribution this year. The government, in partnership with state oil and gas company Pertamina, was also likely to miss a target to

open 33 natural gas stations. The government previously announced plans to distribute 25 000 conversion kits for official vehicles this year as part a program to reduce the nation’s subsidized-fuel consumption. Last June, three Italian firms – Faber Cylinders, Landi Renzo and BRC Gas Equipment – expressed interest in the procurement after the government implemented the conversion program.

South Korea resume Iran oil importsSouth Korean oil refiners are in talks with Iran to resume oil imports, officials said, potentially by using Iranian tankers as a way to circumvent European Union sanctions. Talks are currently underway with Tehran, officials of Hyundai Oilbank, SK Energy and Seoul’s knowledge economy ministry. Imports stopped entirely in July when an EU oil embargo on Iran over its nuclear programme took effect, banning Euro-

pean firms from insuring Iranian oil shipments. South Korea had relied entirely on European firms for such coverage. A spokesman for SK Energy, the other South Korean refiner which previously bought Iranian oil, confirmed the ongoing talks. South Korea bought 9.4 percent of its crude oil from Iran last year. It had been sharply reducing purchases this year in return for a waiver from separate US sanctions on Tehran.

tanzania questions petrol sample resultsThe Government Chemist Laboratory Agen-cy and the Tanzania Bureau of Standards have been asked to figure out what went wrong when they both tested the same petrol sample for ethanol content and came up with different results, despite both using the same agency, Augusta Energy in Switzerland. The issue could affect all petrol imported between January and March, said an official from the country’s Ministry for Energy and Minerals. One of the samples – the one taken by the GCLA – is above the country’s ceiling for ethanol content.

PtG energy expects ranking boost

PTG Energy, Thailand’s sixth-largest oil retailer in terms of the number of fuel sta-tions, aims to become the third-biggest by the end of next year, largely on anticipated strong support via a public fund-raising on the stock exchange. The company plans to expand its number of tank farms and fuel stations, the size of its truck fleet and rebrand its PT operations to achieve the target, Chief Executive Officer Pitak Ratchakitprakarn has said. Overall, there about 18 000 fuel stations in the Kingdom, of which 5 000 are branded. PTT ranks as the top oil retailer in terms of the number of stations, followed by Bangchak, Shell, Caltex and Esso. PTG Energy ranks sixth. PTG Energy operates 500 fuel stations around the country, of which 330 are owned, the rest are owned and operated by dealers.


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european governments ramp up emergency oil stocksEuropean governments are rushing to boost stockpiles of crude oil and fuel, anxious to comply with new EU rules and ahead of feared supply disruptions in the Middle East. Belgium and the Netherlands have issued tenders to import a total of around 250 000 tonnes of diesel and gasoline for delivery in September and October. France has also bought diesel and awarded a crude oil tender this week while Belgium is increasing its crude stocks. The tenders are likely to support high fuel prices and could also help buoy Brent crude futures, already up nearly $ 10 since the start of August on Middle East tensions and limited North Sea supplies, analysts have said. “This is yet another unexpected source of support for oil demand ... It’s a mirror of the stockpil-ing we saw in China earlier in the year, and shows how the geopolitical concerns about Iran and Syria are bullish for oil even in the absence of an actual supply disruption”, said Seth Kleinman, head of energy research at Citi. State inventories have come into focus as speculation mounts that the United States and other Western governments may release stocks to dampen prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining sanctions against Iran. An EU directive passed in 2009

and designed to mitigate the impact of a supply crisis requires EU members to hold reserves equal to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of aver-age daily consumption ahead of a December 31 deadline. One third of the stocks must be held in products, according to the EU directive. “We are in the process of build-ing stocks to meet our strategic obligations under the new EU rules”, said Alain Demot, General Manager of Belgium's Apetra, adding that more tenders would be issued in coming months. Apetra said its tender was for 57 000 tonnes of diesel. It also said it had issued a crude oil tender and that a cargo of 900 000 barrels of crude oil would be delivered before the end of August into Belgian storage held in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Dutch agency COVA said it had issued a tender to import 200 000 tonnes of gasoline and had awarded a portion of the volume. France’s SAGESS said it bought 2 million barrels of diesel or 267 000 tonnes before the end of June to meet its EU requirements. It also awarded a tender to buy 2.1 million barrels of Saharan Blend crude which will be delivered September.

olerex increase market share in estonia

Olerex, the biggest of the fuel retailing companies active in Estonia that belongs to Estonian entrepreneurs, has in recent years boosted turnover and won market share in the petrol retail market. While the retail

and wholesale units of international chains Neste and Statoil increased sales last year by 11 percent to 188.8 million euros and 194.4 million euros respectively, Olerex’s turnover grew last year by 50 percent to 151 million euros. Olerex’s profit was 1.62 million euros versus 1.58 million in 2010. The profit of Neste was 3.32 million euros versus 4.88 million euros in 2010 and the profit of Statoil 0.52 million versus 0.35 million euros in 2010. “We have increased turnover in the main field of operations thanks to large state procurements”, commented Olerex’s Marketing Manager and one of its two owners, Antti Moppel.

retailer adopts modular stations with new imageRussian retailer KazMunayGas fuel stations are to be re-branded reflecting the innovative style and the company’s aspiration to meet the best world standards. The first modular stations with the new corporate design have already come into operations at subsidiaries of KazMunayGas. Refining and Marketing JSC. The first stage of the pilot project was the introduction of automation systems which was successfully completed and allows increases in productivity of 9 percent. New technologies will enhance the quality of service and fuel products, speeding up vehicle filling time.

An integrated management system meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:1999 was introduced at KazMunayGas Refining and Marketing JSC.

Self-service tried again in Abu dhabiFuel retailers are considering a re-launch of self-service fuel pumps in Abu Dhabi. Half the pumps in each Adnoc fuel station will be converted to automatic. No deadline has been set for the change, said Khalid Mubarak, the company's Abu Dhabi Retail Sales Manager. Drivers will still have the option of being served by attendants but Mr. Mubarak said the new system would be more convenient for customers. Adnoc introduced self-service pumps in Abu Dhabi about three years ago but they proved unpopular. In the region, only Turkey has full self-service fuel stations.

PSo & Kuwait Petroleum form jv Pakistan State Oil and Kuwait Petroleum have agreed to form a joint venture to increase Pakistan’s oil storage capacity. The two companies will invest $ 350 mil-lion (284 million euros) in developing additional infrastructure. According to Senator Muhammad Yousaf Baloch, the two companies have entered into an initial agreement, with a formal agreement due to be signed soon. Much of the country’s crude oil is stored at Karachi Port but the new tanks will provide Pakistan with an alternative location. Pakistan State Oil has also revealed that it is looking to erect an oil refinery in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) that will handle crude oil produced in the area.

Students develop com-puterized distributionALHOSN University, a leading Abu Dhabi-based university dedicated to high-quality, value-based education, has announced that students of its Industrial Engineering Department have developed a prototype logistical support system for ADNOC petrol stations. The computerized model optimizes supply and service operations while minimizing environmental impact. When implemented, the system will help raise ADNOC’s earnings by increasing petroleum quantities and reducing the distances traveled by the company’s dis-tribution trucks. ADNOC employees can decide on the product quantities to be delivered and the best transport routes to generate the least expense by referring to the consumption index for each product sold and other data generated by the proposed logistics solution. The optimized distribu-tion also leads to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

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totAL causes chaos in AustriaAt a new TOTAL fuel station opening in Austria fuel prices caused traffic chaos as hundreds of customers formed enor-mous queues to take advantage of buying petrol and diesel at just 90 cents per litre. Advertising flyers had been handed out to people in the region and so many people turned up that the police had to come and help regulate the traffic. Drivers queued for an hour to fuel up!

france considers ‘floating fuel tax’French Finance Minister Pierre Mos-covici has recently announced that the government intends to take “appropriate measures” to halt rising fuel costs at the pumps, explaining that the idea of reintroducing a “f loating” tax on fuel is one of the avenues currently being explored. Moscovici provided assurances that the government will ensure that in the coming months fuel prices do not exceed current levels. The government has tasked the General Inspectorate of Finance and the General Mining Council with analyzing oil industry prices. Once the report is received, discussions will take place with refining and distribution companies to consider conditions for fixing prices, noting government plans to then act. The French union of petro-leum industries (UFIP) had stated that it would be “feasible” to block fuel prices by reducing taxes, while conceding that such a measure would be costly.

Greenergy seals deal for oil terminalFuel supplier Greenergy has outlined its ambitious plans for the UK after buying the former Petroplus oil storage terminal on Teesside out of administration. The London-based business is part of a con-sortium that also acquired the Coryton refinery in Essex in June, which was part of the administration when Petroplus collapsed in January. Greenergy Chief Executive Andrew Owens said: “The North East of England is an important hub in our UK fuel infrastructure platform and an area where we have significant sales volume. We will continue to manu-facture fuel and supply our customers from the Vopak facility. Once it has been developed, this new site will be integrated into our existing North East system to give additional product and manufacturing capability.”

MoL increases sales and market share Hungarian fuel and gas company MOL, which operates a chain of petrol stations in Romania, has announced an increase in local fuel sales of 5 percent in the first half of 2012, against the same period last year. Revenues from the Romanian fuel stations increased by 12 percent and the company’s share of the local market went up to 12.5 percent over the first half of 2011. MOL attributes the increases to the expansion policy followed in Romania. “The volume of retail sales of fuels increased in Romania in step with the development of our

network”, reads the MOL statement. During the first half of the year, MOL’s petrol sales rose by 1 percent, while diesel sales rose by 7 percent, year on year. MOL operates a network of 130 petrol stations in Romania. The company is one quarter owned by the Hungarian state, with the other 75 percent divided up between fuel companies and financial firms and institutions. The MOL network consists of nearly 500 filling stations in five countries – the largest being Hungary, and a market leader at one and the same time.

tNK-BP and Gazprom Neft optimize SlavneftTNK-BP and Gazprom Neft have agreed to launch a project to optimize governance of the Slavneft group, which they own on a parity basis. The ownership structure of Slavneft will remain unchanged. The project, envisages that additional management and decision making authorities will be assigned by Slavneft’s corporate centre to its subsidiaries – OJSC Megionneftegaz, LLC Krasnoyarskneftegaz and OJSC Slavneft-Yaroslavnefteorgsintez. The proposed changes imply that the share-

holders will play a more active role in the work of the subsidiaries by appointing the members of their Management Boards and General Directors. As a result, the manage-ment of the production companies would run the day-to-day operations, draw up and implement their business plans, while key investment issues, such as the approval of production programmes and general oversight of Slavneft’s subsidiaries would be reserved for their Boards of Directors.

oMv increase earnings in second quarterOMV has published its results for the second quar ter of 2012, during which it reported earn -ings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 865 mil-lion euros. The figure was an improvement of 82 percent on the same period last year, with the firm benefiting from higher refining and petrochemical margins, but OMV reaffirmed its commitment to a programme of divesting downstream assets. The Refining and Market-

ing arm reported EBIT of 23 million euros, an 83 percent fall from the same period last year. However, clean CCS EBIT grew significantly to 129 million euros, from 14 million euros in the second quarter of 2011. Refining output was static year-to-year, with marketing sales volumes down from 5.73 million tonnes to 5.47 million tonnes. Overall capacity utilisa-tion in the refining arm stood at 80 percent.

Statoil fuel & Latvian Post in partnershipLatvian Post has formed a partnership with fuel retailer Statoil Fuel & Retail Latvia to allow consumers to receive parcels at fuel stations. The two companies have launched a pilot project at seven locations in Latv ia in which customers of mail-order catalogue companies will be able to designate their local fuel station as an

alternative delivery address. The project will mean working consumers can receive items up to 7 kg in weight bought from remote sellers when they are away from home during the day. Latvian Post said it is anticipating a two-month study before mak-ing a decision on continuing and expanding the service.

Sasol announces european project launchThe Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) project in Uzbeki-stan will be called OLTIN YO’L GTL. The project was named at a formal ceremony in Tashkent involving representatives from the three companies who make up the joint ven-ture: Uzbekneftegaz, Sasol and Petronas. In English, Oltin Yo’l translates as ‘golden road’ and is a reference to the centuries-old trade routes which passed through Uzbekistan and specifically through Samarkand, the country’s

second city. When commissioned, OLTIN YO’L GTL, a 38 000 barrel per day plant, will produce a combination of GTL diesel and GTL naphtha. Mr David Constable, CEO of Sasol said: “Sasol is proud to be part of this strategic project, which will provide Uzbekistan with world class environmentally friendly fuel, contribute to the country’s energy security and diversify the utilisation of its domestic gas resources.”


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Italian Police find irregularities in fuel salesThe Guardia di Finanza (GdF), Italy’s financial police, have revealed that 15 percent of fuel distributors could be accused of financial irregularities. The force, which investigated fuel retailers in holiday areas late last month, said that 200 of 1 300 distributors were not keeping displayed prices in line with what they actually charged and were therefore falsifying income. In a similar exercise during

the first half of August, the GdF found over 350 irregularities among 2 400 retailers. The force uncovered examples of petrol being diluted with other, low-quality oil products, through which some retailers avoided excise duty and gained a supply of fuel to sell on the black market. 23 of the worst offenders have been charged with financial fraud by the force.

BP ask US $ 30 billion for their sharesQuestions about to how to raise up to US $ 30 billion to finance the purchase by Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft of BP’s 50 percent share in TNK-BP have started in earnest with Rosneft emerging as the main bidder. Russian and international banks are seeing opportunity in what is likely to be Central and Eastern Europe’s biggest-ever acquisition deal. BP put its stake in Russia’s third-largest oil company

– valued at $ 25 billion – US $ 30 billion – up for sale on June 1 this year amid shareholder conflict after buying it for $ 8 billion in 2003.

“Rosneft believes that an acquisition of BP’s interest in TNK-BP would be in the best interests of both Rosneft’s and BP’s sharehold-ers and would lead to further development of TNK-BP”, Rosneft said, adding there could be “no assurance” of a deal.

UK motorists get free fuel by mistakeThe Automobile Association (AA) in the UK has announced defective fuel pumps are giving drivers more petrol than they pay for. The motoring organisation has revealed that in some cases, customers are receiving around

4.4 percent more than they have bought. Tests discovered that newer pumps dispensed the correct amount of fuel but older nozzles gave drivers extra. An EU directive forces stations to upgrade their equipment by 2016.

turkish fuel stations ‘oversold’LUKOIL is seeking arbitration over its pur-chase of a chain of Turkish gas stations in 2008, with sources close to the proceedings saying the company wants compensation, claiming it overpaid. “LUKOIL’s subsidiary in Turkey, LUKOIL Eurasia Petrol, filed for arbitration in relation to the Akpet deal”, said Dmitry Dolgov, LUKOIL’s Spokesman

in Moscow. Since the purchase, Turkey’s Competition Board, a state regulatory agency, sharply reduced the length of contracts that stations sign with fuel distributors. LUKOIL will argue that after regulatory changes, the sum of about $ 550 million that it paid for the 700 stations licensed to Akpet was excessive.

Serbian gas pipeline ensures flowOAO Gazprom Neft, the majority owner of Serbia’s Naftna Industrija Srbije AD (NIIS), will start building the Serbian section of its South Stream gas pipeline by December. The construction of the 411-kilometre (255 miles) pipeline will cost 1.9 billion euros ($ 2.32 billion), Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic’s press office has said. Serbia is

seeking to diversify its gas imports which currently come from Russia through Hungary and Ukraine to be less vulnerable to delivery disruptions. Last October, state-owned gas company Srbijagas said the cost to build the Serbian section would be 1.38 billion euros, with an annual transit capacity of 34 billion square metres.

Ukraine refinery supplies down 38 percentThe amount of oil crude oil being transported to refineries in Ukraine fell by 38.7 percent in the first seven months of the year, mainly due to a sharp fall in the number of deliveries coming through Russia. In total, 3.17 million tonnes of oil were transported over the period, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Ministry has said. Supplies from Russia fell by 73 per-

cent. Over the period the amount of domesti-cally produced oil that was processed in the refineries rose by 31.9 percent to 1.6 million tonnes; 449 300 tonnes of Kazakh oil went through processing, a 300 percent increase; while deliveries from Azerbaijan stopped com-pletely. It had sold 617 000 tonnes to Ukraine between January and July 2011.


finnish retailer at-tracts interest from PKN orlen

Poland’s largest fuel refiner, PKN Orlen SA, is always interested in buying fuel stations and will look at a chain of Pol-ish self-service stations that Finnish oil refiner Neste Oil Oy is considering to sell, Chief Financial Officer Slawomir Jedrzejczyk has said. Jedrzejczyk said that from PKN Orlen’s point of view, it would be important for the locations of the Neste stations to allow the construction of small grocery stores that are typical of Orlen sta-tions. The sale of non-fuel products, like snacks and alcohol, has been a profitable strategy for PKN Orlen stations in recent years. Polish media earlier reported that Neste had approached PKN Orlen with an offer to sell its chain of approximately 100 self-service fuel stations, which has also attracted the interest of Lotos, Poland’s second-biggest refiner.

turkish distributor seeks retail aquisitionIpraga z AS, Turkey ’s f i r st l iquef ied petroleum-gas distributor, plans to start a fuel retail unit and is seeking acquisition targets to support domestic expansion. Ipragaz is working on a brand name and say operations will start next year, according to Chief Executive Officer Selim Siper. It will be the first LPG company in Turkey

to sell gasoline and diesel and in an inter-view Siper said, “We need to invest about US$50 million to have a reasonably sized network in the retail fuel business.” More than 40 companies including OMV AG, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and OAO LUKOIL already operate in Turkey’s fuel retail industry.

oMv will stay in German marketCEO Gerhard Roiss has rejected rumours on a withdrawal from Germany after analysts considered that OMV may be more focused on the upstream segment. In the Czech Republic where OMV is still the second biggest fuel retailer they plan to sell the 230 petrol stations. In 2010, OMV sold 56 petrol

stations in Germany to a German subsidiary of Polish PKN. In Croatia and in Bosnia, potential buyers seem to show interest in OMV’s petrol station business. The reason behind the downsizing strategy is that OMV needs to raise 1.0 billion euros by 2014 in order to strengthen their gas business.

focus on Armenia for rosneft through joint ventureRussia’s state oil producer Rosneft plans to enter Armenia’s fuel market, a source told a Russian business newspaper, also saying that Rosneft may become the main oil product supplier to Armenia. It is likely to create a joint venture with one of the local companies to build fuel stations and a fuelling complex at Armenia’s interna-tional airport in Yerevan. The volume of

Armenia’s oil product market is estimated at 340 – 360 tons imported per year. A fuel-ling complex built at Zvartnots airport is owned by Mikhail Bagdasarov, owner of the national air carrier Armavia. An insider in one of the Russian air companies flying to Yerevan said Armavia is the only company to use the fuelling complex because of its high price.

NewS – eUroPe


All text on this page is submitted and written by suppliers. Please email product news to [email protected] NewS


We always say the same things when Automechanika comes around. It's such a huge fair and seems only a few months have passed since the one before. For the exhibitors, the days and hours of preparation are with them once again, looking forward to meeting up with the key buyers who right now are probably checking flights and booking hotels, trying to get the best deals online.

Whichever way you choose to look at it, Auto-mechanika is the leading trade fair in the world for the automotive trade sector and contained within the 4471 exhibitors are the leading providers of equip-ment and services to the retail petroleum market. It’s an event which brings in over 150 000 visitors from 76 countries, 36 percent of them having workshop or service station facilities. Germany is obviously at the head of the top ten visiting countries list, but it is followed by Italy, UK, France, Netherlands, Poland, China, Turkey, Spain and Greece in that order. Incredible to see that so many visitors make the long journey from China, but this is probably due more to the automotive manufacturing side rather than the service station sector. It’s nice to see the UK in third place proving quite clearly that we are not a stay at home nation.

34 erpec companies are taking part in Automechanika 2012, a few more than in 2010. Being based purely on one to one meetings, i. e. no product displays, erpec partners perfectly with Automechanika in alternate years as it offers the senior oil company executives who attend, a perfect opportunity to re knew associations with key suppliers and to see products and services actually being demonstrated.

Some great news outside of the exhibition itself is that the hotel availability situation in Frankfurt is starting to improve, with five new hotels having been built in Frankfurt since 2010. Messe Frankfurt, the organisers of Automechanika, has spent many hours lobbying important groups in the area, cam-paigning for more available accommodation on behalf of visitors and exhibitors and now it seems at last to be taking effect. The Hilton Garden Inn at Frankfurt Airport is one of the five, probably a bit pricey for me, but the combination of the Ibis, the Welcome Hotel, The Meninger and the Dormero, all close to the exhibition centre, should provide

a good cross section of differently priced options, which will I’m sure be welcomed by everyone.

From looking at the exhibition floor plan we have produced on pages 16–17, you would be forgiven for thinking that not a great deal has changed from the one we published for Automechanika 2010. It is though significant to see that most of the companies there two years ago are exhibiting again. Whilst trading conditions in most countries remain challenging, this surely must say something encouraging about the industry as a whole. I am also reliably informed by the organisers that there are a few new companies showing products for the first time which is always good to see. As we would expect, many of the regular exhibitors are occupying exactly the same stands as in 2010, but this is quite normal at Automechanika as companies protectively hold on to their cherished positions, knowing that if they did not re book their stand, some other company, or possibly even a competitor, certainly would!

Hall 10.0, is the primary exhibition hall of the retail petroleum equipment companies, conveniently located adjacent to the outdoor car wash display areas. Visitors can drift in and out of both sections of the show without too much difficulty. Very noticeable outside is the loss of Italian car wash manufacturer Ceccato, leaving a large space to fill on the forecourt, in more ways than one. However, look out for the ‘Man versus Machine’ car wash challenge, where visitors can register in teams or on their own if they so wish, to wash a car faster and more efficiently than one of the latest rollovers, I presume, on show. Be careful what you wish for! There are even prizes to be won including an ipad. For more information and an entry form visit www.autopflege.mobi a website address belonging to the German organisation running the competition.

Look out also for the museum of ‘equipment past’, filled with products well and truly passed their sell by date, kindly donated by many of the exhibitors.

From the listings we have published over the next few pages you will get a better idea of who is doing what, but it is presumed that the new family of Wayne Helix dispensers, on show for the first time, will draw much of the attention. It will certainly be one of the best place for sandwiches at lunch time! Car wash access control company, PSD Codax, is unveiling its new ticket terminal giving retailers the option of offering multi-wash smartcards as well as account cards. The new terminal also provides faster authorisation. Show highlight for OPW is its next generation nozzle – Advance, recently advertised in erpecnews, whilst Elaflex will be inviting you to come to see their evolutionary range of ZVA Slimline 2 nozzles and options like ‘LeverAssist’ for use where hold open latches are not allowed. Tokheim, like Wayne, will also be presenting a new dispenser, as well as announcing a new innovative solution for managing media solutions. Tradition-ally the Tokheim stand will I’m sure be the most popular place to get some liquid refreshment and a bit of entertainment on the Wednesday evening.

There is of course much more to see than the above and we hope to meet many of our readers and delegates there. Frankfurt is certainly a very convenient place to catch up with some of the major players in the market and who knows, you might even meet a few companies that you’ve never heard of before. If anyone would like to catch up with me at the show I will be at the Tokheim stand on Wednesday from 5 pm onwards. Can I have a diet coke please Mr Arundel?

More information on Automechanika at www.automechanika.messefrankfurt.com

Opening times 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (closes at 5 p.m. on 16th)

Admission prices (All admission tickets include free travel using local public transport services)

Season ticket 45 EuroDay ticket 24 Euro Catalogue 34 Euro More informationwww.automechanika.messefrankfurt.com

11th – 16th September 2012

See you in Frankfurt by Nick Needs

AUtoMeCHANIKA 2012

LAteSt NewS, eveNtS, joBS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoM

B68

A39

B61

C69

B90

C22

A90

B60

d68

B95

A28

C67

C29

B71

A59

A67

A63

C70

d25

A19

A28

B25

A23

f14

A29

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16

deLeGAteS At AUtoMeCHANIKA 2012

Retail petroleum equipment and services – hall 10.0

Car washing and car washing accessories – outdoor hall F– SW and 10– S

Hall 8


B68

A39

B61

C69

B59

C43

B37

A98

C37

C50

A31

C54

B41

A71

A29

deLeGAteS At AUtoMeCHANIKA 2012

A few easy steps to prepare your automechanika visitPreparations for automechanika 2012 are in full swing and this floorplan offers a short guide to help you prepare your visit in the most effective way.

1. Use the listings overleaf or the www.petrolplaza.com 2012 exhibitors gallery to check exhibitors.

Many exhibitors are providing extra information on their company’s activities or showing images of new products and ideas.

2. The venue: Frankfurt am Main, Germany Conveniently situated in the center of Germany, Frank-

furt am Main is one of the world’s busiest traffic and transport hubs. Frankfurt’s international airport ranks amongst the largest in Europe. It is accessible from over 290 worldwide destinations and situated only 11 minutes from the city center by train. The main train station is located in the middle of downtown Frankfurt. Frankfurt has an excellent public transport system which connects the exhibition venue easily from the airport or other city locations. Moreover, the local autobahn network is equally well connected with other German urban centres as well as more faraway destinations.

3. Get a quick overview of the exhibition here and plan your time carefully. It always seems to run out faster than you think.

4. Check the opening times: 11. – 15. September: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 16. September: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

5. Automechanika events related to the ‘Service Sta-tion & Car Wash’ category:

Man vs Machine car wash event Who can wash faster, more thoroughly and with less risk

of damage – man or machine? A chance to see volunteers compete against one of the

world’s most modern car washes. The competition will be held on every day of the fair at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 hrs.

Venue: Southwest Outdoor Area (F_SW) A29

Special show of BEM, German E-Mobility Association The German E-Mobility Association (BEM) and its

members will be presenting the ‘Mobility of the Future’ theme world, which offers direct experience of the latest mobility concepts right at the show itself.

Venue: hall 10.0 / Southwest Outdoor Area (F_SW) F10

Service Station & Car Wash Museum The first patent for a mechanical car wash was registered

exactly 50 years ago – a good reason to spotlight the ‘Ser - vice Station & Car Wash’ segment at this year’s Auto-mechanika.

Venue: Southwest Outdoor Area (F_SW) area A27

6. The award entries: The automechanika Green Directory 2012 award The automechanika 2012 Innovation award in the ‘Service

Station & Car Wash’ category.

Retail petroleum equipment and services – hall 10.0

Car washing and car washing accessories – outdoor hall F– SW and 10– S


®

18

AUtoMeCHANIKA LIStINGS

Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KGCar wash area, Stand F_SW A 19 A wide range of vehicle washing technology, cleaning agents and equipment for cleaning workshops, showrooms and forecourts. Featur-ing the CB Flex / 5 gantry wash with four side brushes, a roof brush, two roof dryers and a side dryer to ensure a fast (max. 180-second) yet intensive wash. The new CB Flex / 5 is available for washing heights of 2.30, 2.50 and 2.80 metres. Also showing the new SB MB modular concept for self-service washes with four to eight bays. Operators can design their own wash centres on the modular principle. This enables easy, fast installation, reducing operators’ costs. A wide range of programs are also available. Air-servHall 10.0, Stand B90 AIR-serv is one of the world’s leading suppli-ers of ancillary forecourt equipment. AIR-serv owns, installs, maintains and services the equipment at our cost. We are fully responsible for any maintenance expenses, including those arising from natural causes or every-day wear and tear. We also provide detailed quarterly service and collection reports that show you amounts collected, date the service technician was on location and type of service completed. The AIR-serv Turnkey Program is the no-cost, no-effort profit producer. The AIR-serv “No Cost/Shared Revenue” Turnkey Programs are designed to provide you with increased profits and satisfied customers ... at no cost to you!

AriD Technologies, inc.Hall 10.0, Stand A90 ARID is primarily recognized for its PER-MEATOR unit, a proven membrane based system, which reduces gasoline evaporative losses from storage tanks used at fuel stations. The PERMEATOR is a “back-end” vapour containment system attached to the storage tank vent lines and the system is compatible with any Stage II vacuum-assisted vapour recovery system. The PERMEATOR saves 1 to 3 litres of fuel per 1 000 litres dispensed, with an overall vapour recovery efficiency of 99.3 percent, as confirmed by third-party testing with US EPA oversight.

Bennett + Sauser AGHall 10.0, Stand C22Bennett + Sauser is a leading Swiss company developing and manufacturing dispensing pumps for different applications: Diesel, Petrol, Adblue, LPG, E85 ... whatever has to be dis-pensed. Products include: Dispensing pumps and payment terminals, Fuel station planning and construction services, equipment, tank systems (including alternative fuels), automatic fuel dispensing systems for self-service stations, fuel station pumps, Fuel station systems.

Brugg rohrsysteme GmbHHall 10.0, Stand B60 One of the leading suppliers in the world-wide market for the safe transport of flammable and hazardous fluids. Our pipework SECON-X®, FLEXWELL-LPG®, PETREX®, has been used by leading oil companies and industry to convey oils, gases (LPG / LNG) and fuels for more than 40 years. Our pipework guarantees the reliability of more than 25 000 petrol stations every day. BRUGG are constantly developing pipe systems that comply with both national and international standards, to transport haz-ardous fluids safely in order to protect life and the environment.

DurapipeHall 10.0, Stand D68 Dura pipe PLX is manufactured by market-leading pipework specialist Durapipe UK, who are a world pioneer in the development and manufacture of thermoplastic pipe systems. Our large portfolio of innovative products are manufactured to the highest standards, which allows us to supply widely into a vriety of differ-ent markets and applications around the world. Durapipe PLX is an above and below ground product range specifically designed for the safe transfer of all liquid fuels. Consisting of single wall and two types of secondary contained pipe and fittings, PLX has been installed for many different forecourt applications across the World.

Elaflex HiBY Tanktechnik GmbHHall 10.0, Stand A28 Come to see our evolutionary range of ZVA Slimline 2 nozzles and options like ‘LeverAssist’ for use where hold open latches are not allowed. The renowned Slimline hoses and Safety Break couplings will be displayed. For LPG Autogas the lightweight ZVG 2 nozzle with all connector options, plasticiser-free LPG 16 hose, GasGuard GG 10 High flow failsafe nozzle. Learn about AdBlue mis-fuelling prevention, the new EN 13617-1 ATEX conforming Sight Glass range and the advantages of the upcoming Unified Valve Assembly for ZVA Slimline 2/2GR. Also the expanded Online Nozzle Configurator which will be unveiled at the show.

Fafnir GmbHHall 10.0, Stand B95FAFNIR level measurement technology stands for the protection of man and environment. The product range for fuel stations include: components for environment and product protection, overfill prevention systems, cross over prevention systems, remote monitor for manholes, automatic tank gauging system (ATG), components for vapour recovery systems, sensors and systems.

Fibrelite Composites Ltd.Hall 10.0, Stand C67 GRP composite manhole covers and watertight underground containment systems. Fibrelite was the very first company in the world to design an easily removable composite manhole cover for the retail petroleum sector. Fibrelite has recently invested in new tooling to manufacture additional dispenser sumps, including the TOKHEIM Quantium 510 and the TOKHEIM Quantuim 500T Adblue fibreglass dispenser sumps. These Kiwa-approved models are currently being supplied to the Netherlands. Fibrelite has also completed tooling for the TATSUNO Sunny XE dispenser sump which is being made in the company’s new Malaysian manufacturing plant for customers in South East Asia.

Flex-ingHall 10 Stand C29 FLEX-ING produces a wide variety of service station products. FLEX-ING offers products that are built to take the rigors of day to day operations such as above and below ground stainless steel flex connectors, isolation products, dispensing hose petroleum transfer hose and many others. FLEX-ING provides a full range of service station hose support by offering air hose, ball valves and commercial wash down hose.

Franklin Fueling Systems GmbH Hall 10.0 Stand B71 Franklin Fueling Systems (FFS) as the leader in total system solutions offers the industry’s most complete product offering including Fuel


AUtoMeCHANIKA



Management Systems, Piping and Containment, Submersible Pumping Systems, Service Station Hardware and Dispensing Systems. FFS will highlight the newest innovations, including the revolutionary Gemini Secondary fittings and the TS-550 evo Fuel Management Sys-tem, which represents a true evolution of Fuel Management with advanced new features and extremely intuitive navigation. Also showing is the industry’s preferred EN 14125 Standard Pipe Work, UPP brand pipe, now featuring an advanced new EVOH liner making it stronger and more durable than ever.

Gilbarco Veeder rootHall 10.0, Stand A59 Gilbarco Veeder-Root supplies and integrates the broadest range of new and proven technologies to reduce cost of ownership, enhance environ-mental integrity and improve performance and profitability for petroleum marketers and com-mercial fuelling enterprises worldwide. Among its business lines are fuel dispensing and control; site and retail management; support services; and environmental compliance technologies. Gilbarco is a global supplier of fuel dispensing equipment, fully integrated point of sale and back office accounting systems. Veeder-Root is a global supplier of automatic tank gauging, leak detection and fuel management systems, including Red Jacket® submersible pumps.

Hectronic GmbHHall 10.0 Stand A67 ›› PetroLine: Web-based monitoring software

for your petrol station network. Status mes-sages and disruptions are sent immediately via e-mail or SMS. Via PetroLine you can even view the fill levels or change prices. This system can also be operated by smartphone with our PetroLine App.

›› FleetNet: Online authorisation of station cards. The terminal authorises online against a central server. FleetNet provides you with central limit handling and the possibility to accept different fleet cards.

›› Optavias: Monitoring and evaluation software for fill level data management. Optavias includes many functions, such as strapping table configuration, volume calculation, tem-perature compensation and threshold values with visual and acoustical alarms.

HOrn TECALEMiTHall 8, Stand F74 In the year 2000, HORN acquired the DEUTSCHE TECALEMIT GmbH & Co. KG including all patents and trademarks and has successfully integrated their product range into its own portfolio. The strategic product align-ment of HORN TECALEMIT is pumps, fuel dispensing systems, liquid management, tyre pressure technology and workshop technology. The traditional methods of dispensing and

workshop technology have been integrated into numerous new products; new control systems have been created in the past few years for liquid management as well as products for the chemical industry. HORN TECALEMIT is engaged on a broad basis in the complete pro-prietary development and manufacture of such components, appliances and systems.

iSTOBALHall 10.0, Stand A28 ISTOBAL is currently one of the leading Euro-pean manufacturers of car wash equipment, with experience of more than 30 years in this industry. ISTOBAL manufactures the whole range of vehicle washing equipment.

KPS Petrol Pipe SystemHall 10.0, Stand A63 KPS is a market leading supplier of petrol pip-ing and chambers for filling stations. We are the only manufacturer to offer a system that is completely electrostatically safe to use with both existing and future fuels, including biofuels. At this year’s Automechanika you will find all of the latest KPS products on display, including our watertight and throughout conductive tank chamber, new compact and installation friendly double wall pipe fittings. Come by for a look at our products and for a discussion about our tech support and design services!

Labkotec OyHall 10.0, Stand D25 Labkotec Oy is a leading Finnish manufacturer and supplier of electronic level gauges, flow

detection devices and alarms, automation and detector technology and web-based data transmission solutions. We have more than 50 years of experience of the industry and have pioneered several new solutions. Our diverse and comprehensive expertise enables us to sup-ply solutions tailored to each customer’s needs.

LAFOnHall 10.0, Stand C70 Since 1975, with its 5 plants, LAFON has developed his expertise on several ranges of products to raise standards for the downstream petroleum industry. Petrol station equipment, Fleet management solution, Storage tanks, Aviation products, Special equipment, Retail application (P.O.S and new identification options).

Mepsan Petrol Cihazlari San. ve Tic. A.SHall 10.0, Stand A29 MEPSAN A.S. is one of the leading Fuel and LPG station equipment manufacturers possessing an ATEX certificate in TURKIYE. Main prod-ucts of MEPSAN are Fuel-LPG dispensers,air compressors, tire gauges, submersible fuel pumps, mobile filling stations, flexible piping systems and station automation systems. Mepsan uses world’s latest technology in the manufacturing process of its UNIMEP brand of Fuel dispens-ers. The team of Mepsan, young and dynamic, takes realistic steps to follow the technological developments in the World. By doing this, it has also widened its product range by adding the products of well known, leading manufacturers in the World to its portfolio.(NUPI,ABAC,E.BARBERO and EXCEL).

nUPiGECO S.p.A.Hall 10.0, Stand B68 NUPIGECO is one of the global leaders in the development and production of the high-est quality non-metallic piping systems. The company produces SMARTFLEX™ Full Single and Double wall system, suitable for conveying petroleum products, alcohols and alcohol-gasoline mixtures underground that is used and approved by major international petroleum companies. SMARTFLEX™ recently obtained the DiBt German certificate and is EN, UL and KIWA listed. The system has a 30 year warranty and has been installed in over 8 000 stations in 16 years in 145 coun-tries on 6 continents and is approved for use with suction and pressure systems as well as at petrol stations.

OPW Fueling Components EMEAHall 10.0, Stand B61 Recognized around the world as the indus-try standard in fuelling equipment, OPW, a Dover Company (NYSE: DOV) delivers product excellence and the most comprehen-sive line of fuelling equipment and services to retail and commercial fuelling operations



worldwide. Automechanika highlights are the successful market introduction of OPW’s next generation nozzle – AVANCE by OPW, the redesigned TOTAL Vapor Solution, the Central Vacuum Stage 2 Vapor Recovery System, Clean energy fueling products, fuel containment systems and sophisticated automatic tank gauging equip-ment, as well as Fuel Management Solutions.

Otto Christ AG Wash SystemsHall 10.0, Stand D40 Otto Christ AG of Memmingen Germany has been manufacturing vehicle wash equipment for over 30 years. A worldwide leader in the field, employing some 1 100 people they boast innovative designs and a comprehensive prod-uct range built to the highest standards. The equipment range offers a unique combination of attractive and gentle appearance, superb wash quality and engineering designed to out- perform others.

PetrotecHall 10.0, Stand A39 Petrotec is one of the five largest manufacturers in the world concerning equipment for the distribution and retail segments of the oil industry. Petrotec will be displaying a large range of equipment specially dedicated to Service Stations. From fuel and Biofuel dis-pensing pumps, LPG pumps, Electric pumps (Fast Charge – CHAdeMO), to Car Wash (light and heavy vehicles), Automation and Management Systems (for filling stations and fleets), Automatic Payment Systems and Magnetic Electronic Cards and, the highlight and world premiere, the new and innovative PFAST! This new product will be the future of Service Stations.

PSD CodaxHall 10.0, Stand C69 UK-based PSD Codax will be launching its new generation of access control systems for car wash equipment, now featuring both code access and contactless smartcard technology,

during Automechanika Frankfurt 2012. Codax is unveiling its new ticket terminal which gives retailers the option of offering multi-wash smartcards and account cards. As well as adding smartcard technology, the new Codax terminal provides faster authorisation and rapid printing. Codax will also be demonstrating the new Ethernet version of its market-leading technology during Automechanika.

PWM GmbH & Co. KGHall 10.0, Stand B59 PWM – means Profit with Marketing. Spe-cialist for electronic Price Signs and LED Profitboards® for service stations. PWM offers customer-designed electronic price signs, LED panels and LED lighting which are developed and manufactured in our state-of-the-art factory in Germany. PWM is world market leader for electronic price signs and supplies all leading oil companies of all continents as well as independent petrol stations and supermarkets. PWM offers a wide range of designs, colours and sizes.

Scheidt & Bachmann GmbHHall 10.0, Stand B37 Scheidt & Bachmann has a long history working with the leading independent fuel retailers and Mineral Oil Companies throughout Europe for more than 80 years. Scheidt & Bachmann are justifiably recognised as the dispenser, pay @ pump & retail systems experts. More than 2 000 employees are committed to design all solutions according to meet local market needs. We seek to ensure long-term customer satisfaction at all levels from a strategic solu-tion to a single device in the field. With our extensive sales and service network in more than 50 countries worldwide, we ensure that we are always presented near our customers.

SGB GmbHHall 10.0, Stand C43 Leak prevention systems in accordance to the European Norm EN 13160 for double walled tanks and pipes operating with overpressure or vacuum will activate an alarm before any product can enter the environment. Leak detection systems and sensors for chemical plants, refineries, tankfarms, petrol stations and storage tanks.

SloanLED Europe b.v.Hall 10.0, Stand A98Experience the difference – with 55 years of LED lighting excellence, SloanLED designs and develops high-reliability lighting products for interior and exterior applications. With strong warranties, superior technical assistance and unparalleled customer service, SloanLED provides the Petroleum and C-Store industries with the best LED lighting systems, the best support and the best results.

Tanknology inc.Hall 10.0, Stand C50 With more than 20 years of experience, no one offers more industry-leading equipment options that you can put to work in your country than Tanknology.



›› Our VacuTect® tank tightness testing system is Number One in the world – recognized as the ‘Standard’ by Major Oil Companies.

›› Tanknology’s PetroScope® Robotic Camera allows you to perform unmanned internal inspections without the risks involved in typical internal Tank inspections. Tank-nology’s Four Phase Tank Assessment® method provides an accurate and economical assessment of a tanks condition to assess its suitability for continued use, as well as any recommendations regarding corrosion protection and re-inspection.

TOKHEiM S.A.S.Hall 10.0 Stand A31 ›› TQC-VGA: Focused media display ›› T-Media: Add. Schedule. Play. T-Media

provides you with an online application that lets you organise and play media on your dispensers. TOKHEIM’s industry-leading EPOS, helps you manage all aspects of your fuel and retail business combining a new, easy-to-use touchscreen interface with powerful management and analytical software tools. Crypto VGA Bank Note Acceptor (BNA)

The Crypto VGA BNA comes in our latest smart, secure design that is available as a single sided or double-sided solution. The BNA accepts bank notes (in 12 currencies) as well as card and RFID payment.

TATSUnO CorporationHall 10.0, Stand C37 TATSUNO, one of the world’s three major petrol dispensing pump manufacturers and the leader in the Asian markets celebrated its 100th anniversary in May 2011. TATSUNO’s main business policy is as follows: Always engage in the sale of innovative technolo-gies. Always take full responsibility for their products. Never rest in their efforts to offer more advance technological products and will also do their best to merit customer’s continued goodwill in the future.

Torex a subsidiaray of MiCrOS Systems inc.Hall 10.0, Stand C54 Torex, a leading global solutions and consultancy provider has invested heavily in technology develop-ment for the Petroleum and Convenience market over the last three years. The result is a range of exciting and available applications designed to allow retailers to achieve best of breed solutions

and rapid and low cost deployment. The technol-ogy challenges arising from retail mergers and JV’s is particularly well served by Torex’s new applications, allowing ventures to proceed with vastly simplified timescales and reduced costs. With 25 years’ experience in the petroleum and convenience market, Torex enjoys close working relationships with major oil companies, retail symbol groups and individual retailers.

WashTec Cleaning Technology GmbHHall F_S.W, Stand A23 Car washing technology which includes: gantry car washes & conveyor tunnel systems. Innova-tion 01 is WashTec’s SoftCare Pro Classic – A high-quality care programme in a gantry car

wash takes around 10 minutes. The WashTec express programmes complete a full cycle in less than 6.5 minutes! This saves you approx. 35 percent in terms of time. Innovation 02 is WashTec’s Drive-In Carwash. The convenient way to higher turnover as customers can remain seated during the wash – now even in gantry car washes. Higher turnover (up to 17 percent increase in capacity) thanks to a faster washing sequence. Greater convenience and, as such, more satisfied customers.

Wayne, a GE Energy BusinessHall 10.0, Stand A71 Wayne, a global innovator of fuel dispensers and technologies, announces the arrival of the Wayne Helix™ fuel dispenser line, emphasiz-ing intelligent design, transaction security and advanced technology. Wayne developed Helix as the result of extensive research working closely with customers, retailers and users from around the world. The Helix dispenser line by Wayne is a global platform on which all future Wayne dispenser models will be based. Three Helix fuel-dispenser models, designed to fulfill a wide variety of forecourt needs, are available at launch: the Helix 2000™, the Helix 4000™ and the Helix 5000™. Wayne will introduce the C-style Helix model, Helix 6000™, in 2013.

Wincor nixdorf international GmbHHall 10.0, Stand B41 Service Stations International, a business division of Wincor Nixdorf, is an established provider of complete End-to-End Solutions for the Petroleum / Convenience Store market worldwide. Our solutions offer unique opportu-nities for enterprises to strengthen relationship with your customers, drive real value, return on investment while reducing total cost of owner-ship. With operations in Europe, Asia and the Americas and an extensive team of consultants and implementation partners around the globe, Service Stations International provides world-class service and support, regardless of how or where a company’s business expands.


SPeCIAL feAtUre – LeAK deteCtIoN

If I was to be totally honest, there can’t me many things less interesting to talk about at a dinner party than tank monitoring! OK, some women might find it slightly more appealing than football but that’s another story. However in the industry today, stock control and environmental protec-tion seem to be on everyone’s minds, especially since fuel prices have gone through the roof and legislative demands continue to put pressure on those who are not doing their upmost to protect the planet from exposure to harmful substances. The fact is we should all know the basics when it comes to such an important matter, so for the benefit of us all, I asked Jost Berg, President of SGB in Germany, a company that leads the field in leak detection systems, to clarify some critical points on the subject and explain a few of the current issues they are dealing with. SGB moni-tors double walled tanks and pipes with vacuum or pressure leak detectors, offering a continuous monitoring solution. This type of systems is also known today as a leak prevention system, as it detects potential threats before any leakage occurs into the environment.

Jost explains, “Our system operates to Class one, the highest protection level offered in the Euro-pean standard EN 13160. This piece of legislation though, provides for another four classes of leak detection technology, all of which need to be considered by operators, prior to choosing the right solution for them. Class one monitors the tightness of the double walls, pipes and tanks and gives off an alarm when one of the walls starts to leak, informing the operator before any substance can enter the environment. Class two addresses the liquid systems utilising a mixture of water, anti fungus and anti bacterial additives,

plus other substances which combine to provide a warning if a tank is breached in any way. These are used particularly with double walled steel tanks, but certain authorities have now realised that the liquid is water polluting itself and as a result several European countries have now prohibited its use i.e. Switzerland and Germany. Denmark, Holland and Italy are also moving away from using this procedure.” Class three cover the systems where there is a double walled tank, or a tank in a bund with a sensor located at the deepest point of the interstice or in the bund. With this system, if a leak occurs from inside the tank an alarm will automatically detect it. However, there is nothing to monitor the outer wall and should a leak occur here, this would allow polluted products to enter the environment undetected.

Class four brings us to gauging systems, measur-ing the level of the stored product. For accurate readings to be taken there has to be no movement of the fuel at the time the information is required i.e. when dispensing fuel or taking in new fuel deliveries for example. At a suitable time the level

of fuel is recorded and if it has dropped dispropor-tionately to the amount of fuel dispensed, then it would be normal to conclude that there must be a leak somewhere. Basic and straightforward maybe, but this is another system where a warning comes after the pollution has already occurred. Class five describes the monitoring wells, which are drilled beside a tank and are equipped with a hydrocarbon sensor. Leaks will be detected when product floating on the groundwater level passes the sensor. These systems will only tell the owner two things: “The environment is now polluted and almost certainly there will be some expensive cleaning up to do”. SGB, established in 1962, was the first company in the world dealing with vacuum or pressure based systems for leak detection. Their first clients were 100’s of thousands of German households who had tanks for their heating oil. “In 1965 there was new legislation in Germany stating that ground water had to be protected from pollution.” Jost says, “In those days the company was working with oil tanks and knew about how frequently they leaked. We developed a vacuum system to keep the product in the tank and if it leaked, air or ground water was sucked into the tank causing a pressure change. This ultimately could be used for an alarm indication. In our systems today the vacuum or pressure is provided by a pump and the application is designed as a standalone facility offering continuous monitoring of the interstitial space, i. e. the space between the inner and outer walls of a tank or a pipe. It is maintenance free and crucially does not allow for any false alarms. In comparison to any other system, like a gauging system for example, our system will always prove

Jost Berg

President, SGB GmBH

Having a leak, might be more interesting than you think!by Nick Needs


more effective as there are no tolerances to deal with. Incredibly, some gauging systems allow for a 0.2 gallons loss per hour without indication, which is just not safe.” This seemed to me like an enormous degree of loss but Jost confirmed that this is definitely the case. He continued, “In 1970 the legislation in Germany for double wall tanks arrived and we changed our product specifically to work with these new directives. By creating a vacuum or pressure between the walls, we were able to monitor continuously and detect a pin prick hole on either wall instantly. Everything became that much more effective and of course much safer, not least for the environment.”

“Our first journey into the retail petroleum market came shortly after 1970. Switzerland and Austria were very quick to follow Germany with double wall legislation, but alarmingly many other countries in Europe did not follow until the 1990’s”, I asked Jost if initially they contacted the oil companies or did the oil companies contact them and he told me it was a bit of both. “Shell was the first oil company we worked with and we needed to convince them that they should put SGB on their specification lists. It was the installers though who were hope-fully going to buy the product and happily for us, they did. This was the beginning of a long and successful business relationship between Shell and ourselves, who we now support on a global basis.” I asked Jost how important the installers are today in terms of getting any new product into the market. He said “The installers are key to us as partners. They need to understand the technology and have to be trained to install the equipment correctly. Our business contacts are a mixture of the mineral oil companies who recommend us to approach certain installers and installers who ask us to speak with the various oil companies. It’s a bit like ‘Cat and Mouse’ but more recently the interest from oil companies in certain countries has started to decline, due to them contracting out more of the business to the installers, PMC’s and facilities management companies. Because of this reason I would say the installers are starting to become much more important, for example in Germany, our home market, business is now con-centrated through just a few of the bigger installers i.e. Tokheim Göhler, Lanzerath etc.” Do you work closely with the major pump dis-penser companies was another question I put to Jost. He replied, “No, not really. 99 percent of our leak detection equipment is a standalone solution, with its own pump and pressure switch. Only for installations involving leak detection equipment and a submersible pump, would there be a com-bined solution. We do though have a close working relationships with certain pipe manufacturers like Brugg for example, which like us is a high quality manufacturer from Germany”.

With SGB being firmly established in Europe, supplying many of the MOC’s there like Esso, BP, Chevron and Conoco, it was an obvious question to ask Jost what he was doing in Sin-gapore, the place we were meeting to conduct this interview. He commented, “The market here is just developing for us and we have had a few meetings resulting in a degree of interest. In this part of the world, leak detection is not too common but as new environmental legislation for double walled tanks grows, it will change significantly over the next few years”. Perhaps though, it is the USA, rather than Asia, which should be taking a closer look at the damage being caused by leaking tanks. Jost claims that in California they have leaking petrol stations involving MTBE, which causes cancer and is not bio degradable. Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether is a chemical compound manufactured by the chemical reaction of methanol and isobutylene. MTBE is produced in very large quantities, over 200 000 barrels per day in the U.S. back in 1999 and is almost exclusively used as a fuel additive in motor gasoline. It is one of a group of chemicals commonly known as ‘oxygenates’ because they raise the oxygen content of gasoline. At room temperature, MTBE is a volatile and flamma-ble liquid that dissolves rather easily in water. He told me that today, MTBE is often found in many Californian drinking wells. “Dealing with the problems surrounding hazardous sub-stances being leaked into the environment is not just about cleaning up around a petrol station. There are much wider implications worldwide to think about”, he said. So you have an interest in the US market, I asked him. “A little bit”, he cautiously replied. In Europe, Jost pointed out that much still has to be done in countries like Turkey, Greece, Russia and the CIS, where in leak detection terms, not much has happened yet. He did mention though that somewhere in Kazakhstan there is a govern-ment building which has its fuel tank monitored by SGB. “It is starting to happen slowly in these countries” he said, “We just have to be patient”. I suggested to him that dealing with Greece at the moment, in the middle of such a difficult trading time, might be a bit challenging. “Perhaps they will have to pay in advance”, he said with a laugh and a big smile, which seemed the perfect place to end this most enjoyable encounter, with one of erpec’s most prominent delegates. If you would like to meet Jost, he will of course be joining us for erpec 13 next year in Nice, France on April 16th – 18th. If you are visiting Automechanika in Frankfurt from 11th – 14th September, you will find SGB on stand C43 in Hall 10.0. More information on SGB can be found at www.sgb.de

SPeCIAL feAtUre – LeAK deteCtIoN

Under pressure'A quick snapshot of the highly sophisticated equipment used by SGB. Pipes, pipes, more pipes and a control box. All self explanatory!

27latest news, events, jobs online – www.PetrolPlaza.comlatest news, events, jobs online – www.PetrolPlaza.com LAteSt ALterNAtIve fUeL NewS – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoM 27

NewS

ALTERNATIVEFUEL NEws

Battery company breakthrough boosts rangeA small battery company backed by General Motors is working on breakthrough technol-ogy that could power an electric car 100 (160 kilometres) or even 200 miles (320 kilometres) on a single charge in the next two-to-four years, GM’s CEO said. CEO Dan Akerson said the company, Newark, California-based Envia Systems, has made a huge breakthrough in

the amount of energy a lithium-ion battery can hold. GM is sure that the battery will be able to take a car 100 miles (160 kilometres) within a couple of years, he said. It could be double that with some luck, he added. “I think we’ve got better than a 50 – 50 chance”, Akerson said, “to develop a car that will go to 200 miles on a charge, that would be a game changer.”

first ev charging station for thailandThailand’s first station to charge electric vehi-cles (EV) has opened and although Thailand only has three EV cars, there are plans to raise awareness among the public. Another 20 EV charging stations are planned in Thailand

over the next two years. Recently Mitsubishi began field testing of the Mitsubishi Innovative Electric vehicle (MiEV). About 5 000 proto-type units are running in Japan and 10 000 have been shipped to the US and Europe.

Uzbekneftegaz & China’s CIMC sign contractUzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC) and China’s CIMC Enric Compres-sor Ltd, signed a contract to supply 10 CNG filling stations worth about $ 14 million. Under the terms of the contract, the Chinese company will supply 10 ‘turnkey’ stations with a capacity of 2.4 million cubic metres of compressed gas each to different regions of Uzbekistan. Delivery is set for the fourth

quarter of 2012. In early 2007, the Uzbek government adopted a program to promote the use of gas as road transportation fuel in Uzbekistan. In particular, it is planned to build 138 filling stations across the country with a total capacity of 708 million cubic metres of compressed natural gas and 952 gas stations with total capacity of 476 000 tons of liquefied gas.

Shell open demonstration Hydrogen stationThe Shell-branded station in California offers both Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline and Hydrogen and will be open 24 hours a day. Local fuel cell vehicle drivers will be trained to use the dispensers using personal access codes. Initially, Shell expects 10 to 12 drivers to fill their tanks each day at the site’s two

pumps. “Demonstration hydrogen filling sta-tions allow us to evaluate a range of different technologies and learn valuable lessons about costs, consumer behaviour and how to dispense it efficiently to different vehicles”, said Matias Sanchez Cane, North America Commercial Manager for Shell Alternative Energies.

Ge researchers develop home re-fuellingIn what could help fuel widespread adop-tion of NG vehicles in the US and globally, GE researchers, in partnership with Chart Industries and scientists at the University of Missouri, have been awarded a program through Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) to develop an afford-able at-home refueling station that would meet ARPA-E’s target of $500 per station

and reduce re-fueling times from 5 – 8 hours to less than 1 hour. Natural gas prices are at an all-time low and the number of natural gas (NG) vehicles is increasing, but several barriers are preventing greater adoption of this vehicle technology. These include the inconvenience and low availability of re-fuelling stations and limited driving range of NG vehicles.

Abu dhabi taxis to run on CNGAbu Dhabi’s taxi companies will have to ensure that one quarter of their fleet runs on compressed natural gas by the end of the year after the state’s Executive Council issued a decree aimed at cutting its carbon emissions. More than 7 000 taxis operate throughout the state and it has been recently looking at ways to improve the environmental sustainability of its transport systems. CNG engines allow the driver to fill up with both gas and petrol. The decree is also aimed at generating publicity for the fuel and promoting its use among private companies.

4.1 million ev charg-ing stations by 2017There are currently 10 000 or so publicly-available electric car charging stations in the U.S., in addition to countless private charg-ing stations in homes and businesses across the nation. The current number of charging stations in the U.S. today makes electric cars trump all other alternative-fuel cars when it comes to finding a place to refuel, but accord-ing to a recent report, the number of electric car charging stations in the U.S. could reach 4.1 million by 2017. The prediction comes courtesy of a recent analysis of electric car charging stations by a global consultancy specializing in assisting clients with predict-ing and handling industry growth.

1 000 CNG stations for USAKeystone Consulting Group LLC plans to build 1 000 compressed natural gas stations around the U.S.. The Jacksonville-based company and DeBartolo Development LLC have created a compressed natural gas expansion project with the goal of increasing the nation’s number of fueling stations. The project kicks off with a pilot project of 10 stations and adds more during the next four years. As part of the pilot, four different station models will be tested, focusing on fueling fleet vehicles. Stations will range from a private option for a single fleet to a station built to serve multiple fleets.


NEws From RussIA & CIs

28 LAteSt rUSSIA NewS – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoM28

LUKoIL cuts investment then re-investsInvestments of Russia’s largest private oil company OAO LUKOIL in the development of their retail network in 2011 amounted to 339 million dollars with the total number of fuel stations decreasing by 7.8 percent to 5 994 stations, said the company’s annual report. Last year, LUKOIL optimized the retail network to reduce costs and improve

efficiency, however in 2012 they are construct-ing and acquiring fuel stations, particular in Europe and in the CIS were 10 new stations have been built and 88 purchased, renovated and rebranded. So far in Russia this year LUKOIL have built and commissioned 34 new fuel stations, renovated 35 existing sites and acquired 35 more.

Gazprom oil invest in high octane fuel At the Omsk refinery Gazprom Oil have opened two major production facilities designed to produce gasoline Euro-4 and Euro-5, corres-ponding to the highest operational and environ-mental requirements. The new manufacturing facility is part of the selective treatment of

catalytic cracking gasoline and diesel fuels, the second phase of which will be commissioned in the third quarter of 2012. It is planned that from 2013 all production of high-octane gasoline at the Omsk refinery will meet all five ecological targets and technical regulations.

russian oil companies may struggle to upgradeIn July 2011, twelve oil companies in Russia signed an agreement with The Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) and RTN Rosstandart committing themselves to a gradual switch to the production of higher quality petroleum products by 2015. In September 2011, due to the general unavailability of Russian refineries to produce high octane fuel to environmental standards, the Russian government decided to extend the sale of fuel Euro-2 for two years and Euro-3 – for three years, 2012 and 2014 respectively. In June 2012, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, considering the deadline

of 1st January 2013 for implementing envi-ronmental requirements on fuel production, instructed Rostekhnadzor, Energy, FAS and Rosstandart to monitor refinery modernization and every three months submit a report to the government. In late July 2012 the deputy head of FAS Anatoly Golomolzin reported that “the Vast Majority of Companies were complying with the terms of modernization”, noting, however, that “there were some difficulties for some” and that “a government commission on the fuel and energy sector would be set up to guide the process”.

Kazan opens station with vapour recovery systemLLC “TatGazServis” opened the first sta-tion in the country with vapour recovery at the pump in Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan). According to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Tatarstan Artem Sidorov,

“the effectiveness of the system is 97.6 percent confirmed via industrial system tests. President Rustam Minnikhanov is now considering the

possibility of introducing such equipment at all fuel stations, especially those located in residential areas of cities and towns of Tatarstan. The Director of TST for Eastern Europe Wolfgang Dyurfeld expressed his intention to find a partner in Tatarstan for further production and assembly of special-ized equipment for fuel stations.

Independent owners want refineryThe network of independent gas station owners of companies "track" is to build its own refinery, planned for 2016 with initial capacity of 4 million tonnes a year, said Chairman of the Board of Directors Nikolai Doroshenko. He also said that the sales of

oil from this plant will be available solely on the domestic market. Speaking about the sources of raw materials for the plant Doroshenko said, he planned to buy oil on the open market, but does not exclude buy-ing small oil fields.

Ukraine investigate im-ports of Belarusian oilThe Ukrainian government is preparing to launch an investigation into imports of Belarusian oil products. On August 16 a meeting devoted to the protection of Ukrainian oil refineries, the main topic of discussion was the importation of petroleum products from the Customs Union (CU), in particular, Belarus. The results of the meeting hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, who are entrusted with collecting information on imports of petroleum products from Belarus and the Customs Union, was to introduce new protective measures. Such measures would include the imposition of du-ties on imports as currently petroleum products are delivered to Ukraine at low prices due to reduced export duty for Russian Customs Union countries, particularly Belarus. According to experts however, the introduction of a duty tax will lead to higher prices for consumers and a return to reliance on Russian oil, which since March 2012 has not been imported. Ukraine has six refineries, of which only two work due to lack of supply routes and oil pipelines, plus non-compliance of product quality to interna-tional standards.

russia establishing ePC contractorsMost countries of the world organize the oil and gas construction process according to the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model. This approach means that a customer chooses a single general contractor who takes responsibility for the following types of works: design, engineering, procurement. The EPC contractor searches for subcontractors who per-form the necessary work. Giving the project to a foreign EPC contractor may cause difficulties and should be performed by Russian specialists, who are familiar with other languages, but as well understand the regulatory base and bu-reaucratic processes in Russia and who are in contact with Glavgosexpertiza and other state authorities. An EPC contractor from abroad may not be experienced with Russian products and, consequently, would use foreign products familiar to him. That is why establishment of Russian EPC contractors has become very important to the Russian government as they seek to support Russian industry.

LAteSt NewS, eveNtS, joBS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoMLAteSt NewS, eveNtS, joBS oNLINe – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoM


usA NEws

30 LAteSt USA NewS – www.PetroLPLAzA.CoM30

BP sells refinery to tesoro for US $ 2.5 billionTexas- based oil firm Tesoro Corporation is buying oil major BP’s refining and marketing business in California for US $ 2.5 billion. The deal includes the 266 000 barrels per day Carson refinery near Los Angeles and associated network of pipelines. It also includes 800 gas stations, BP’s Arco brand and other assets. The closing of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is

expected to happen before the middle of next year. Iain Conn, Chief Executive of BP’s global refining and marketing busi-ness, said: “As an established refiner and marketer, Tesoro provides a strong future for the business and for its employees.” He added that the move was a “significant” step in the strategic refocusing of BP’s US fuels business.

U.S. issues mandate for minimum fuel purchaseThe United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a mandate directing consumers to purchase a minimum of four gallons of gasoline from gas stations that dispense fuel of different blends through the same hose. The mandate was issued follow-ing concern over the inadvertent mixing of

E15, the ethanol-gasoline blend consisting of 15 percent ethanol, in the fuel meant for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s) as a result of using the same hose at gas pumps.The mandate has not been received well by the AMA because the fuel tank capacity of most motorcycles and ATVs is less than four gallons.

US $ 6 million biofuel cultivation grant awardedThe University of Hawaii has been awarded a US $ 6 million four-year grant to conduct research into the prospects of locally produc-ing biofuel. The grant was awarded by the US Department of Food and Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and could help the island to realise the possibilities for cultivating renewable and economically viable crops for production.

Andrew Hashimoto, a professor at the uni-versity, said he expects the research to yield important information on the potential for biofuel crop cultivation in the region. “This is a timely and essential issue. Collaboration is key, as we all bring our diverse strengths to the table for this subject of importance to Hawaii, the nation and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Gilbarco veeder-root unveils e25 retrofit kitsGilbarco Veeder Root has introduced retrofit kits for its Encore dispensers allowing retailers to offer fuel blends of up to E25. The kit includes a metre and valve assembly designed to enable rapid installation. Retailers who wish to offer E15 fuel or blends up to E25 must prove fuel

compatibility and Underwriters’ Laboratory (UL) approval. The company offers several dispensers designed for use with alternative fuels, all of which have approval from the UL and the National Conference on Weights and Measures for up to E85.

US funds Proton energy SystemsThe U.S. Department of Energy has invested US $ 1.4 million into Proton Energy Systems, a leading manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen production systems, to fund two projects. The first project will be focused on the deployment of high-pressure electrolyze technologies that will be installed at an exist-ing hydrogen fuel station. The technology is expected to double the dispensing capacity of

the station. The second project concerns the collection of data on the operation, maintenance and energy consumption of hydrogen fuel stations. Hydrogen fuel production requires a large amount of energy and the data col-lected by Proton Energy through this project could help with more efficient production technologies that would make hydrogen a viable investment.

valero retail unit val-ued at US $ 5 billionValero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner by processing capacity, plans to sell or spin off its network of fuel stations, a business that may be worth as much as US $ 5 billion. The board of directors has approved the separation, San Antonio-based Valero said in a state-ment. The unit’s value will be improved as a standalone entity, the company said. Credit Suisse AG is advising the company. Valero’s retail segment includes more than a thousand company-owned and branded gasoline and diesel stations in the U.S. and Canada.

AtMs withdrawn from fuel stationsBank of America Corp., the lender targeting US $ 8 billion in expense cuts, reduced its automated teller network almost 9 percent this year by dismantling most of the devices deployed at U.S. gas stations. The bank’s total number of ATMs fell by 1 536 in the first half, a record decline, leaving it with 16 220 as of 30th June, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm said last week. Bank of America didn’t renew deals to place its machines at sites owned by Simon Property Group Inc., the biggest U.S. shopping mall owner and gas station operator Valero Energy Corp., said Anne Pace, Spokeswoman for the bank.

SIGMA rejects pro-posed settlementSIGMA, an association representing indepen - dent motor fuel marketers and chain retailers in US, is the latest group to support NACS and reject the proposed antitrust settlement with Visa and MasterCard that was announced on 13rd July. “SIGMA does not support the proposed settlement of longstanding antitrust litigation between merchants and the credit card industry”, noted a statement released by SIGMA. “Although SIGMA has never been a party to the litigation, the potential settlement would impact and bind all retailers that accept Visa and MasterCard cards. Because the proposed settlement does not introduce competition and transparency into the broken credit card swipe fee market, SIGMA does not support adoption of the settlement agreement”, the statement added.


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