· PDF fileAnglo-Dutch oil company in Tunisia, ... prices through the Administrative Pricing Mechanism. The APM was a regulatory mechanism that gave the government the

Issue No 6 | August / September 2010

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Libya bids US $ 2 billion for SHELL assets in AfricaThe Libyan company, Oil Libya Holding Company is making a US $ 2 billion offer to purchase some of the downstream busi-nesses of SHELL in Africa, official sources informed in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The offer, announced by the legal adviser of the Anglo-Dutch oil company in Tunisia, is for 21 African countries and excludes SHELL in South Africa. SHELL, which will soon announce the name of the successful buyer, had a turnover of US $ 357 billion in 2007 and stands as the biggest European oil company with a turnover increasing by 29 percent over all the past years. Oil Libya Holding Company, formerly called Tamoil, is under the supervision of Libya Africa Portfolio (LAP), whose capital is US $ 800 million. The Libyan oil distribution company operates in 20 African countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Chad, Tunisia, Uganda and Mauritius. In addition, the company supplies aviation fuel at 28 airports in Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan. Oil Libya has 1 250 fuel retain stations that employ 2 800 people in African countries, selling 4 billion litres of oil each year. In 2012 Oil Libya plans to set up 3 000 fuel retail stations. The Libyan company, which has expressed the wish to be in more Africa countries, in February

2008, bought Mobil Maroc, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, which holds 10 percent of the Moroccan market for the distribution of fuel. It has also invested in oil exploration in Morocco by buying about 65 percent of the US investment fund, Colony Capital. It has set up a Moroccan-Libyan company called Tamoil Sakia, which intends to invest about US $ 100 to US $ 150 million in oil exploration in Laayoune in Western Sahara, as well as in the supply and distribution of oil products in the region. The company plans to invest US $ 6 billion in Egypt to set up a new oil refinery and 500 fuel retail stations. Libya Oil Holdings Lim-ited is also in Gabon through its subsidiary, Libya Oil Gabon S.A. with all Mobil Oil fuel retail stations in the capital, Libreville, being replaced by Oilibya. The Libyan authorities in 2008 set up Oil Libya Holding Company to extend its activities to the continent and South America. As the magazine was going to press, Vitol, the world’s largest energy trader announced it too was interested in SHELL’s African assets. Vitol said in a statement it was looking to acquire businesses from SHELL which includes 1 300 fuel retail sites in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and 14 other African states. The deal would mark a new step for Vitol in supplying end users. The company, best known as an oil trader, has other businesses including exploration, production and storage.

The Indian government has decided to roll back subsidies on petroleum products and transfer power to decide prices to the oil producing and marketing companies. The oil companies would now, possibly, be able to sell petroleum products according to the international crude oil prices. Until now the Indian government used to control oil prices through the Administrative Pricing Mechanism. The APM was a regulatory mechanism that gave the government the right to modify oil prices in order to shield the common people from the fluctuations in the international crude oil prices. This practice, however, made repeated and long-lasting dents in the profits margins of the Indian oil companies. These companies were forced to sell the petroleum products at substantial losses due to this regulatory intervention. The prices were maintained at such low levels that it completely wiped off the presence of private companies in the market. Several private companies closed and sold off their oil filling stations and completely stopped commercial operations. The decision to reduce subsidies on petroleum products was not an easy one. There have been a slew of price upgrades in the past few months. Earlier this month, the government ‘freed’ the natural gas prices from regulatory control pushing prices of compressed natural gas up which in turn led to increased public transport costs.

India cuts subsidies

AsiA, Middle eAst & AfricA edition

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Essar, ONGC and reliance eye bP assets With a stash of cash and global aspirations, Indian oil companies are smelling an oppor-tunity at BP, following the massive leak of its well in the Gulf of Mexico. A consortium of state-run oil firms, led by ONGC Videsh, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL and Essar group are swooping on the beleagured company’s fuel retail networks in a number of African coun-tries. Both the Indian private sector majors, which operate three of the most complex and modern refineries in the country, are believed to have put as much as US $ 500 million on the table for BP’s retail networks in Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi and probably in Zambia. The companies declined to comment, saying these were

“market speculations”.

GS Caltex pushes self-service Korean stationsIn the 1970s, a vast majority of gas stations in the United States offered full service with employees filling the tanks while drivers re-mained seated behind the wheel. Things are totally different now as more than 90 percent of petrol pumps are self service in the world’s largest economy. And in Korea, GS Caltex is spearheading the shift. The nation’s second-largest fuel retailer started to install do-it-yourself petrol stations in late 2005 and increased the number to 22 in 2007, 61 in 2008, 123 in 2009 and has 150 at the moment. The self-service

gas stations of GS Caltex account for more than half of the country’s 280 such facilities. The Seoul-based outfit plans to increase the number in the future. “Motorists can get substantial discounts when they fill their ve-hicles themselves at the self-service pumps. In addition, they tend to feel free to refuel even a small amount”, a GS Caltex representative said. In the United Kingdom, the proportion of self-service gas stations has reached 85 percent and in Japan the figure is 12 percent, which is relatively low but has been on a rapid increase.

NEwS – MIddLE EASt, AfrICA & ASIA

PetroChina adds 345 stations in six months

MrPL plans to set up 500 fuel outlets

al khaliji expands AtM network with woqod

PetroChina Co Ltd added 345 petroleum stations with total sales capacity hitting 2.26 million tons in the first half of this year. The company’s refined oil sales swelled 16.8 percen year on year to nearly 50 mil-lion tons, and its sales of fuel oil was RMB 1.24 billion more than it sold in the first half of 2009. PetroChina’s Chinese market shares of retails for the first half increased to 67 percent from 65.8 percent in 2009. In the period from January to June, the oil giant built 8 oil depots, adding storage capacity totalling 759 000 cubic metres, sources reported.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is planning to open 500 retail fuel outlets in southern India after the govern-ment decided to de-regulate petrol prices in the country. The company, which is a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corpora-tion, currently operates one petrol station“After the government de-regulated the prices of petrol we are planning to revive our plans to open retail fuel outlets. We have license to open 500 retail outlets”, said UK Basu, Managing Director, MRPL. “Our focus will be Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa for setting up retail outlets”, Basu said without divulging the investment and the time period that the company will take to roll out the outlets. In 2008 MRPL was working on 20 locations in Karnataka to set up its retail outlets before it put the plan off, as the company could not compete with the subsidised retail outlets of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

al khaliji in partnership with Qatar Fuel Company has added four new automated teller machines (ATMs) in key locations across Doha, with plans to increase its ATM network to 22 machines by the end of the summer.

bHPetrol to open 15 stations in Malaysia

Boustead Petroleum Marketing Sdn Bhd, known as BHPetrol, plans to open 15 petrol stations across Peninsular Malaysia next year. Managing Director Tan Kim Thiam said that each of the new stations would cost between RM5 million and RM7 million. To date, BHPetrol has 320 petrol stations all over Peninsular Malaysia.

Iran’s traders hit by petrol prices

Petrol rationing imposed in June by Iran’s presi-dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is beginning to take its toll on the economy. The consequent rise in petrol prices has had a devastating effect on trade. Key tourism cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashad – often considered key indicators of economic prosperity – have been hit the hardest, with almost 30 000 traders reported to be near bankruptcy this year in the normally flourishing Mashad markets The government imposed rations of 100 litres of petrol a month for private cars, 450 litres for private taxis and 800 litres for shared taxis. Anything over and above that now has to be purchased on the free market. The rationing

was announced only three hours before it was due to begin and caused angry protests and chaos, with long queues of cars at petrol stations. The price of one litre of petrol in the free market is now around 5 000 Rials (US $ 5) compared to 400 Rials (40 cents) just a few weeks back. This has also pushed up the cost of overheads. Traders say they have seen a 50 – 60 percent drop in trade this year. A large drop in the number of tourists, due to the rise in the price of petrol, is the main reason. Most traders describe this year’s business as dreadful and many expect to go bankrupt if things don’t get better. Some even claim their profits have dropped to one fifth of last year’s figure. Some younger traders are changing jobs. “I have no choice”, says one such shoe trader, “the market is dead this year, and my sales have dropped”. Most customers usually come from distant places, but now they cannot afford the sky-high price of petrol, whether coming by train, plane, taxi or car.

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MrS in Nigeria to commence full operation of 625 retail outlets before december

MRS acquired 425 filling stations from Chev-ron, with additional 200 retail outlets that would be acquired from some independent marketers, as part of the company’s efforts to expand its distribution network. Senior External Relations Manager of MRS Oil and Gas, Mr. Ahmad Rufai, said that the essence of the operation of its re-branding outlets was for easy products accessibility to customers and to forester prompt distribution of product to all Nooks and crannies of the country. Rufai said: “We understand the effectiveness and efficiency of petroleum products distribution in the country. So, we intend to get to all states of the country as one of the leading indigenous servicing companies in the country. We are going through repositioning of our quality service provider so as to be the best servicing company in terms of quality service delivering in oil and gas sector.” According to him, the 625 branded retail outlets, which would commence operation by the end of 2010, would be a measure in repositioning

the company for full deregulation of its prod-ucts delivery. He added: “The new takeover of some of the acquired outlets has reached almost 70 percent completion while about 157 filling stations outlets have been mapped out into the system as the new takeover by MRS.” Rufai said that the company was working on its own importation to strengthen its supply chain without totally relying on supplies from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).He further stated: “To enhance high quality delivery standards to our customers, we have attained a partnership status with AITA group, an internally acclaimed standards organisation.

reliance Industries to open around 5 000 outlets

Paz wins NIS 1 billion government fuel deal

SHELL restructures network in India

The country’s largest private sector oil and gas operator would initially start the 750 fuel stations, which were closed due to uncompetitive fuel rates compared with the public sector fuel stations. The company plans to eventually increase the number to 5 000 outlets after diesel prices are completely deregulated. A senior RIL official informed that the company is looking at all the strategic locations across the country especially in the north and the east, where it does not have a presence. Also, it is taking a fresh look at already identified locations to find if those have now come to be served by BPCL, HPCL or IOC pumps. Reliance Industries which is controlled by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, at present, has its presence in 12 states and plans to have its footprints in other states too.

Paz Oil Company Ltd., controlled by Zadik Bino, won the public tender by the Govern-ment Procurement Administration for the supply of gasoline and diesel to govern-ment ministries, the Ministry of Finance announced. The fuel supply contract is for three years, with a three-year option to extend. The Ministry of Finance added that contract is worth about NIS 1 billion.

SHELL in India announced that it is prepar-ing to sell around 20 petrol stations from its 80-strong outlet portfolio in India in an attempt to optimise its store locations. A spokesman for the company said: “We are selling sites and outlets that are not worth keeping and don’t match our portfolio and are buying other places. We are adding more than we are selling, so that overall, there is a net growth.” However, SHELL in India continues to be far away from reaching its initial goal of operating up to 2 000 stations across the country, partly as a result of subsidies which the Indian government had paid to state-run fuel vendors to help control inflation. These subsidies have now ended but SHELL as a private business did not receive anything, making it difficult for the company to sell at competitive prices.

ENOC completes next stage of unified business management strategy

Single pump fuel dealers in Uganda face ruin

Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company has awarded BMC Software the contract to handle the next stage of the organisation’s plans to unify its business service management strategy. The deal, which will see BMC Soft-ware take on responsibility for streamlining ENOC’s service management processes, covers its IT estate of more than 2 000 users, 1 800 Microsoft Office and SharePoint licenses, as well as a mixed 3G, IP VPN and fixed line network infrastructure. It also encompasses more than 100 petrol stations, its refineries and lubricant production facilities, as well as ENOC’s administrative offices. The company said that it expects the deployment of BMC’s Remedy IT Service Management solution will help to reduce costs at the oil and gas group,

The operation on single fuel pump stations countrywide has been put under strict condi-tions. It is a Government’s initiative to curb

as the new system will automatically identify redundant licenses, achieve 24 / 7 customer sup-port and increase the effectiveness of the firm’s self-help facilities. The latter has already cut the number of support tickets open for more than two days from 10 percent to just 1 percent, even at peak times. “We needed a solution that could track incidents and licenses and support change management for our end users”, said Sina Khoory, CIO at ENOC. “BMC Software helped us formalise and automate our service management approach within the context of our larger BSM platform strategy. BMC Remedy ITSM provides greater visibility into our IT environment, allowing us to make a financial and business case for IT with hard facts and statistics.”

fuel prices, fuel smuggling and adulteration. Single pump operators deal in small quanti-ties of diesel, petrol and paraffin using single pumps. The fuel pumps are sometimes placed adjacent to retail shops. Dealers purchase their fuel from big fuel outlets across the country. In a letter from the Energy Ministry, effective September 1st all single pump attendants must be licensed. Dealers are to abide by the new measures that include registration of the name, address and location of the petroleum facility.


EUrOPEAN NEwS

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Call centre at home

SHELL values Chile

Accurate gas pumps

The new owner of SHELL’s petrol stations is reversing the trend for New Zealand busi-nesses to move call centres offshore, saying it is cheaper to have one here. Greenstone Energy says it will close its call centre in the Philippines and relocate it to Auckland, creating 12 jobs. The company has created 40 jobs in New Zealand since April when it untangled itself from oil giant SHELL and became a stand-alone business. Green-stone chief executive Mike Bennetts says it contracted Telnet to have the call centre operating from the beginning of August.

SHELL has started the process of valuing its Chilean downstream assets for a potential sale. Commenting on the move, Rodrigo Infante, President of the local SHELL operations said: “Our business in Chile represents an attractive opportunity for investors looking for a professional, inte-grated and efficient operation, with a solid presence in the country for more than 90 years.” The announcement comes at a time when SHELL as a company contin-ues to shift its operating focus away from downstream retail and refinery operations, where it has suffered losses, to upstream oil and gas production interests.

Concern that some petrol stations could be delivering less gasoline to motorists than the amount shown on the pumps has been strongly dismissed by President of the Jamacian gasoline retailers associa-tion, who stoutly defended the integrity of gasoline retailers saying that no member the association would indulge in such activity.

Indian Oil Company eyes rural market to expand its retail networkForeseeing enhanced competition from private fuel retailers in aftermath of petrol prices de-control, state-run Corporation Limited (IOC), will adopt a vertical growth plan to expand its retail network. This will be part of its plan to maintain market leadership position in the fuel retailing segment.IOC will now focus more on rural and semi-urban India. It plans to add 700 – 800 new fuel outlets to its existing network of nearly 19 000 stations in a year’s time from now. “We are no more looking at numbers (of retail sta-

tions). We are focusing on volume growth”, said a senior IOC official at the company’s Mumbai marketing office.IOC plans to take ‘rural path’ as adopted by players in telecommunication, consumer du-rables and automakers among others. “Private players will come out with their outlets mostly on highways and urban areas. We already have large network inside the cities. So, we will focus on ‘Kisan Seva Kendra’ kind of outlets”, the official explained. In effect, we will set up low cost.

regulator allows 7-Eleven purchase of Exxon-Mobil filling stations

tOtAL SA and Mugg & bean team up

Australia’s competition watchdog has appro-ved 7-Eleven Pty. Ltd.’s proposed takeover of Exxon Mobil Corp’s Australian filling stations, conditional on the divestment of a few individual stations. Privately-owned 7-Eleven recently agreed to buy Exxon Mobil’s 295 stations for an undisclosed sum after the regulator blocked an agreement to sell them to Caltex Australia Ltd. for around A $ 300 million. 7-Eleven, which has a license to operate and franchise stores in Australia

Forecourt retailer TOTAL SA and restaurant chain Mugg & Bean have signed an agreement to develop Mugg & Bean’s ‘Grab & Go’ concept at TOTAL service stations in South Africa. The new ‘Grab & Go’ concept was launched on 10 June at the TOTAL Service Station in Sandton Drive, Johannesburg. Kim Hockley, Food Service Manager for TOTAL South Africa, said: “The joint venture is extremely exciting as we have an exclusive offering to our TOTAL sites, which can only increase consumer presence on both

from U.S.-based 7-Eleven Inc., doesn’t have a presence in South Australia state and will on-sell Exxon Mobil’s filling stations there to private company Peregrine Corp. The Austral-ian Competition and Consumer Commission said it has competition concerns at one site in New South Wales state, two in Queensland and one in South Australia. The ACCC said it has received confirmation from 7-Eleven that it will divest three sites, and also from Peregrine that it will divest one site.

our forecourt and shops. The offering is also popular to the SA market which means we will be recognised by all passing trade, encouraging motorists to visit our stations even more for their favourite Grab & Go snack.” Mugg & Bean is owned by Famous Brands and has currently eight Grab & Go outlets nationwide. The Grab & Go concept provides coffee and a variety of “on the go” snack items, including gourmet sandwiches, quiches, hot paninis, Danish pastries, croissants, bagels, muffins and more.

News from South America

News from the Caribbean


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Slovenia energy group Petrol to invest 428 million euros in the balkans

Slovenian energy group Petrol will invest in Slovenia and Southeast European markets a total of 428 million euros by the end of 2014, Petrol chairman Aleksander Svetelsek informed the press in Zagreb. He added that the group would invest 75 million euros in Croatia and employ an additional 300 people there.

Svetelsek said at Petrol’s first press conference ever in Croatia that the group was planning to develop its retail activities through filling stations and to make it among the top three fuel retailers in Southeast Europe. According to him, the Petrol group intends to increase annual revenues each year by 10 percent. Svetelsek also announced that Petrol would start selling in Croatia on July 1st, its next-generation fuels, which have been already introduced in Slovenia. Of the mentioned 428 million euros, 54 per-cent will be invested in fuel retail activities in Southeast Europe and 17 percent in Slovenia, while 29 percent will be invested in retail of gas and other energy products.

LUKOIL acquires Crobenz from INACrobenz is 100 percent-owned by INA. Hun-gary’s MOL owns 47.15 percent of INA and the government in Zagreb holds a stake of some 44 percent. Slovenian fuel retailer Petrol and Slavia Capital Group, part of Slovak-based oil trader Progress Trading, had also placed bids for Crobenz. In April, INA said it had signed an agreement for the sale of Crobenz to Croatian Petrol Stations, an affiliated company of Progress Trading. In May, however, the Croatian Competition Agency AZTN blocked

the transaction and named a divestiture trus-tee. In June 2009, AZTN cleared a deal that allowed MOL to gain control over INA but instructed the Croatian group to dispose of its 14 Crobenz filling stations due to market share concerns. LUKOIL entered the Croatian retail market in 2008 with the acquisition of local privately-owned fuel retailer Europa-Mil for an undisclosed price. LUKOIL Croatia currently runs a network of 21 filling stations in the country.

Kyrgyzstan to sell CGSC Petrol Group

LUKOIL forms Spanish storage joint venture

tOtAL SA’s purchase of OMv sites is legal

The Ministry of State Property of Kyrgyzstan, one of six independent states of Turkey, plans to sell 14 of 34 nationalized facilities. According to a senior minister, 25 facilities have been handed over to the Ministry of State Prop-erty. We are planning to sell a number of facilities in a public sale and to hand over the others to ownership of state bodies and municipalities. Thus, Petrol Group CJSC, which owns BNK filling stations, are being handed over to ownership of the capital.

Litasco, the Geneva-based international trading and supply arm of Russian oil major LUKOIL, has established a joint venture with Spain-based oil company Meroil for the extension of the existing Meroil terminal in the Port of Barcelona. This new capacity will further reinforce the LUKOIL group’s trading and supply infrastructure in the Mediterranean region. All petroleum grades as well as biofuels will be handled at the terminal and will be re-exported or dispatched in Spain, on trucks or via Spain’s CLH pipeline system. The terminal will be equipped with the most advanced security, oil movement and fuel control systems and will be certified for quality as well as, health, safety and environmental managementLUKOIL’s current oil export terminal infrastruc-ture includes the unique Varandey oil loading terminal located on the coast of the Barents Sea, equipped with an ice resistant loading sea wharf which is used for year-round deliveries of oil, produced locally by LUKOIL, for supply of export markets, notably the US. The LUKOIL network includes 204 tank farms and 6 748 filling stations (including franchises), operating under three brands: LUKOIL, Teboil and Getty.

TOTAL SA’s bid to acquire OMV AG’s chain of gas stations in eastern Germany is lawful, a German court said, rejecting an earlier veto of the deal over antitrust concerns. “TOTAL’s acquisition of the gas stations is permissible because the planned merger won’t strengthen a dominant position”, the Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf said in a statement on its website.

NEwS – EUrOPE


NEwS – EUrOPE

SHELL exits from Greek retail arena

More spark needed

SHELL and Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries have announced that they have completed the sale of SHELL’s downstream assets in Greece. As well as the sale, an agreement for the continued use of the SHELL brand in the Greek market by Motor Oil Hellas was signed. Following approval from the Hellenic Competition Commis-sion on 11th June 2010, the 245.6 million euros (US $ 333 million) transaction involves SHELL’s retail, commercial fuels, bitumen, chemicals, supply and distribution, and liquefied petroleum gas businesses, as well as a lubricants oil blending plant. With both companies due to co-operate on several levels going forward, the agreement includes the creation of a marketing joint venture between SHELL and Motor Oil Hellas for the trade of aviation fuels under the com-pany name SHELL & MOH Aviation Fuels. The SHELL retail network of around 700 retail stations, as well as the new aviation joint venture, will retain the SHELL brand and products through trademark licensing agreements. With the completion of the deal, SHELL Hellas A.E. will be re-named Coral A.E. SHELL Downstream Director Mark Williams said: “The decision to sell our downstream businesses in Greece fol-lows a comprehensive strategic review. It fits with our drive to simplify our global downstream portfolio and concentrate on larger, integrated assets in growth markets.”

It was supposed to be the centrepiece of Spain’s green agenda: within four years a million electric cars would take to the roads, with battery top-up points sprouting up in petrol stations and disused telephone booths across the country. “Electric vehicles are on their way”, said Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as he unveiled the plans in April. “Let us get ahead and get them here sooner.” But figures released last month showed that Zapatero’s green dream is some way from realisation: in the first seven months of the year, only 16 electric cars were registered for use on Spanish roads. Even that was a sixteenfold increase on 2009, when just one electric car was registered.

Kuwait Petroleum to boost presence in Europe

The President of the Kuwait Petroleum Inter-national (KPI), Hussein Ismail, has said that KPI is committed to consolidate its presence in the European market “We are a strong player in Europe and our commitment will continue to strengthen that presence”, Ismail said in an interview. Ismail was in Belgium to participate in the inaugural ceremony of a new tank farm of Kuwait Petroleum International Lubricants (KPIL) in the port city of Antwerp. The 24 new storage tanks on the site of its lubricant blending plant on the banks of river Scheldt

in Antwerp is the biggest plant that KPI has in Europe. “This is the biggest one we have. The reason we upgraded this tank storage area is to show our commitment to health, safety and environment”, he said. KPIL is a division of KPI, the international marketing and refinery division of Kuwait Petroleum Cor-poration (KPC). KPIL operates commercially under the brand name Q8 Oils. In Belgium, the KPIL has over 300 petrol stations in ad-dition to petrol stations in Luxembourg and the Netherlands as well. KPIL headquarters is located in Antwerp. Asked about the future of oil prices, Ismail replied that “nobody can predict exactly, but we are talking about a band between US $ 70 to 80 a barrel for the foreseeable future. A band that would serve the consumers as well as producers to make investments to maintain our oil production”, he added.

Gazprom Neft plans entry into bulgaria

budget petrol station businessman eyes vienna

Gazprom Neft may be about to set foot in the Bulgarian fuel market, which is currently dominated by LUKOIL. According to unofficial information, Bulgaria’s Petrol, which is selling 200 filling stations, expects to receive around US $ 200 – 300 million, while Gazprom Neft is ready to pay no more than US $ 100 million. On the other hand, sources expect the deal to be finalized by the end of the year. Petrol could not be reached to confirm the rumours, while Gazprom Neft refused to comment on the issue. In April Gazprom Neft Vice President Anatoly Cherner declared company’s interest

Alarm bells are ringing at petrol stations across Vienna as a canny Salzburg businessman is reported to have plans to open a budget station later this month. Business dailies reported Markus Friesacher considered taking his Salzburg success story to the federal capital. The entrepreneur’s Hofer stations caused a stir – and kilometre-long tailbacks – when they opened with prices as low as 52 cents per litre in the province of Salzburg last year.The shop-free stations are run without staff, but customers – who have to pay via credit card or bank card – can call a free of charge help line anytime if they have problems or questions fuelling their vehicles. Friesacher – who in the meantime also entered the provinces of Lower Austria and Upper Austria – cooperates with discount supermarket Hofer, a subsidiary of

in the acquisition of filling station chains in Europe if they are logistically connected to the NIS refinery, controlled by the Russian company and based in Serbia, where the concern operates 475 filling stations.

German foodstuff giant Aldi. The business - man refused to comment on claims he planned to take over petrol stations in Vienna or open new ones. Debate whether Austria should increase taxes on mineral oil products are meanwhile dragging on. Critics claimed Social Democratic (SPÖ) Traffic Minister Doris Bures tried to avoid enraging potential voters by remaining tight-lipped on the issue, while several economic think tanks stressed Austria should consider introducing higher taxes on mineral oil. Research has shown that car fuel costs an average 1.21 euros in Austria, while the European average was 1.25 euros. Car petrol is more expensive in all of the country’s seven neighbouring states, tempting hundreds of thousands of drivers to cross the border just to fuel their vehicles in Austria.

Only 225 days left for erpec 11 – book now at www.erpec.com




AUtOMECHANIKA 2010

Opening times14 – 18 September 09.00 – 18.00 hours19 September 09.00 – 17.00 hours

Adnission prices:Day ticket pre booked 22 eurosDay ticket box office 32 euros

More information:www.automechanika.messefrankfurt.com

See you in Frankfurt

– frankfurt am Main, Germany, 14. – 19.09.2010

11visit us on stand d83.

their own dedicated exhibition areas. There are 33 erpec companies exhibiting this year, across both the retail petroleum equipment and car wash sectors, many of whom are using the opportunity to meet up with their distributors and agents as well as attracting some large oil companies onto their stands. There is a new visitor entrance this year which opens directly onto the outdoor car wash showground … and as if that wasn’t excite-ment enough, I can add that all the car wash exhibitors have changed their positions, the first time in ages, in order to face the new flow of visitors as they spill out on to the concourse. I must point out for those of you who want to see ISTOBAL, they have found a place all on their own for their stand, which you will find as long as you ask someone once you are there. It is worth making the effort as I have been reliably informed that they have some very exciting concepts to see. Automechanika is about serious business at the end of the day and in these challenging times, every one of the 200 or so companies taking part in the retail petroleum and the car wash sectors of this huge fair, will be pinning their hopes on securing enough business to justify their investment in attending. If you have not booked your accommodation yet, staying at a youth hostel or a retirement home, some 50 kilometres outside of Frankfurt, is a stark reality if you do not get your hotel sorted out immediately. www.hotels.com was still show-ing availability in Frankfurt centre when this magazine went to press. If you have not travelled to Frankfurt before you will find it a beautiful city. For a break

It’s that time again, but the difference this year is, we have a stand! OK, so it may not be the 1 364 square metres that washtec have, see article in this supplement, but we happen to feel we can do a great deal with 9 metres. there will be a drink for everyone who passes by and a sensible conversation for anybody who wants one. Manned by erpec, erpecnews and PetrolPlaza personnel, we would like to see as many of you as possible popping on to say hello and there may even be a competition to enter for giving up your business card. we have not planned one yet, but we still might! Our stand number is d83.

Every two years, the Automechanika extra-vaganza rolls out in Frankfurt, bringing with it some 160 000 visitors and around 4 500 exhibitors from – every corner of the globe. Automechanika encompasses the entire auto-mobile parts, workshop equipment, accessories and tuning markets, but at the same time it is also the leading European trade fair for the retail petroleum equipment suppliers and car wash manufactures, both of which have

from business and some good exercise, make sure you find time to walk down to the river and stroll its banks or hire a cycle if you have time. It’s worth seeing and it will probably change your perspective of Frankfurt as a city. In the evening, if you are not lucky enough to be going to one of the parties, cross the river and spend a few hours in the drinking and eating sector of Sachsenhausen. Good food, good atmosphere and some great beer to sample. In this 12 page Automechanika supplement, you will find listings of all the erpec companies taking part and hall layouts of both the retail petroleum equipment and car wash areas. If you are visiting or exhibiting at the show, have a great time and if you remember, send anyone who has not heard of erpec or erpecnews to come and see us on stand D83 in Hall 10.0. Hope to see you there.

WashTec – the biggest exhibitionist of them all! by Nick Needs

14

– special feature


their HQ in Augsburg Germany, prior to Europe’s biannual showcase taking place, to enable me to try and understand just how much work is needed before for an exhibition appearance at Automechanika can take place. My contact for the day was Mario Kollross, Project Manager Marketing, who, amongst other things, is one of the people responsible for the WashTec stand, from conception, right the way through to having it built in place on time for the 6 days of the event.

Mario told me the real work started six months ago, discussing with designers and architects exactly what products will be on show, although the very first meeting took place eighteen months earlier at the previous Automechanika back in 2008. The show team was then formalised in February, a very important subject for consideration, as during the event up to 150 staff will be on duty, 70 – 80 of which will come directly from the German operation. The balance of stand representatives will attend from subsidiaries and dealers representing over 20 countries, including the USA, from

To choose just one exhibitor to write about at Automechanika 2010, given that there are over 4 500 others to consider, would be challenge for most people. However, it helps if the company in question just hap-pens to be one of the largest exhibitors of the entire event. Further clarity may be achieved by considering that in the mix of all the motor trade equipment, tools and accessories on show, the subject matter belongs to a sector very closely allied to Hall 10.0, the retail petroleum equipment hall, in which many of us will be walking the aisles of later this month. The car wash showground, moved to a brand new space this year, close to a redeveloped main visitor entrance, is where my interest lies in this instance. The company which takes the prize for being Frankfurt Messe‘s biggest client in 2010, is German vehicle washing specialist, WashTec, boasting an exhibi-tion footprint of no less than 1 364 square metres. To put this into perspective, the WashTec stand is ten times larger than the Dresser Wayne stand, which at 234 square metres, is the biggest exhibitor in Hall 10.0. It seemed a good idea to visit WashTec at

where their US subsidiary Mark VII will be bringing over a delegation of dealers in conjunction with the International Car Wash Association (ICA). I first asked Mario to explain why Automechanika was such an important trade fair for WashTec. He said, “We are now marketing car washes in over 60 countries. With its central European location, Automechanika every two years creates the ideal opportunity for us to show our machines at an international level, to a wide customer base. We like talking to our clients to find out what maybe behind their buying decisions and what they feel they need in today’s highly competitive car care market and at Automechanika we feel can do this very effectively. For us though Automechanika is not just about selling car washes. We use this opportunity every two years to bring our customers and our deal-ers to us and if you consider the excellent location of the venue and geographical spread of our business, there can be no better place to do this. To try and achieve what we do during the 6 show days, in a place other than Automechanika, would almost certainly prove to be a logistical


WashTec – the biggest exhibitionist of them all!

Automechanika 2008. the Washtec stand is always one of the busiest at the show. Many of these will also stay for lunch! Washtec expects 2 500 people to visit their stand over the 6 open days.

like most car wash companies exhibiting at Automechanika, live wet wash demonstrations will be a key feature on the Washtec stand.

– special feature

IT specialists, plumbers, water management services, caterers and so the list goes on and on. WashTec make a point of using recyclable materials on their stand. Most of the material used for the floors, walls and service area is wood. Where possible WashTec will also re-use material from previous stands to save on costs and do their bit for the environment. The actual build on site will commence on August 8th and finish most probably the day the show opens. 5 weeks later on September 14th. When the last car is washed and the final sandwich is eaten, the breakdown of the stand will commence immediately after the show has finished and be concluded 2 weeks later. In total, an 8 week project from start to finish!

One day before the show opens; an im-portant training session takes place, in

nightmare, given that many of the facili-ties we need come as part and parcel of the exhibition”.

When all the plans are put in place and the designs have been agreed, the task of physically building the project comes into sharp focus. Mario explained: “To build a stand outside comes with its own set of individual and specific problems. For example, this year we have moved our location in order to face the oncoming visi-tor flow of the new entrance, which spills out directly on to the car wash grounds. Just to design and build the platform for this year, on which the stand sits, has been a feat of engineering excellence, as the hard standing area we are occupying is not flat, meaning that from one end of our stand to the other, the level of the ground drops by a very uncomfortable height. Once the platform is in place our build will incorporate 3 roll over wet wash demonstrations, a live jet wash bay area, a dry tunnel conveyor wash, a truck wash, a water recovery system, a ‘chemicals for car wash’ area and hospitality facility for the all important WashTec lunch, which by the end of the event will have hosted as many as 2 500 people”.

WashTec typically use an outside supplier to design and construct their stand, a company Mario was pleased to point out that has been working with them for many years. The designers then bring in a whole host of other skills and trades including architects, engineers, electricians, decorators, builders,

a variety of different languages, for staff, management and representatives from the dealers, offering everyone who will be on duty, information on what products will be on display. Nothing is left to chance. Giv-ing stand representatives the confidence to be able to have fluid conversations with all visitors, even senior executives from the oil companies, is the main objective of this briefing, which Mario claims, is critical if the company is to achieve all its objectives at the event. He says, “We start planning who we are going to invite to the show 5 months out and of course representatives from the oil companies are top of our list. But it is imperative that once we get them on the stand, we deal with their enquiries calmly and efficiently and offer them a degree of hospitality should their time schedule allow. All our invitations are sent out by the begin-ning of August following an intensive direct mail and telephone campaign”.

So the scene is set and the stand will be most probably be built by the time people are reading this article. I asked Mario if there is anything else we can add at this point to highlight what experience visitors might have when visiting the WashTec stand. He said‚ “We are tremendously excited about this year’s event, as there are many new products for visitors to see, but I cannot say too much about this right now! All I can tell you is that our prescence should generate a great deal of attention”. Watch this space! The WashTec stand number is SW A23.”

More details on WashTec at www.washtec.de

taken on our visit to the Washtec factory, a photograph of a brand new rollover car wash on its way to shell.

16

Bennett + Sauser AG Bennett + Sauser is a leading Swiss company developing and manufacturing dispensing pumps for different applications: Diesel, Petrol, AdBlue, LPG, E85 … what ever has to be dispensed. With heating, automatic temperature compensation, vapour recovery and its control device, high performance pumps … whatever our custom-ers like to get. We feel thoroughly at home as a specialist in all aspects of refuelling; in the manufacture of sophisticated refuelling systems, the planning of state-of-the-art fill-ing stations and of course, on the subject of service. Constant innovation and in-depth know-how have made us one of the leaders in our industry. www.bennett-sauser.ch

BRUGG Rohrsysteme GmbH We are one of the leading suppliers in the world-wide market for the safe transport of flam-mable 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 pipe-work 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 hazardous fluids safely in order to protect life and the environment. www.brugg.de

Ceccato SpA A knack for changing the rules of the game. Being a market benchmark: Ceccato’s objective is to stand out from the crowd and trigger new trends. We can succeed in doing this with the support of a team of affiliated collaborators who are enthusiastic, motivated and professionally prepared. And with an extraordinary, ir-replaceable amount of experience. 20 000 square metres of covered facilities, of which 15 200 are dedicated to produc-tion in the cutting-edge plant in Alte di Montecchio Maggiore (VI); a total of 300 employees for an average production of 1 100 washing systems per year.These numbers tell only part of the story of an industry that, thanks to a multi-product assembly line and an avant-garde powder painting line, is among the most advanced companies in this sector worldwide. These numbers are the foundation upon which Ceccato builds its quality and innovation day after day. A complete range of solutions for means of transportation. Today hundreds of equip-ments encompass the entire field of cleaning technology for vehicles wash systems. Cec-cato does not restrict only to selling plants, but offers a complete package of services, including water treatment systems and cleaning agents. www.ceccato.it

Dresser Wayne Dresser Wayne is one of the largest business units of Dresser, Inc. and a global leader in the design, manufacture, and serv icing of fueling forecourt solutions where reliability and uptime are critical. Dispensers, payment platforms, control systems, and technol-ogy from Dresser Wayne play an essential role in traditional and alternative fueling sites around the world. Dresser Wayne is ISO14001 certified. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Automechanika show where Dresser Wayne will put its latest Retail Petroleum Solutions on display. www.dresser.com

Durapipe UK Durapipe UK offers PLX: A high performance, fusion welded, multi layered PE pipe system, supplied as Single Wall and Secondary Containment product ranges. PLX is an above and below ground product range specifically designed to ful-fil the application needs of the forecourt market. Durapipe PLX range comprises of three systems, Single Wall, Secondary Contained Close-Fit and Pipe-In-Pipe ensuring the safe transfer of fuel based liquids and their vapours. Durapipe UK has a track record of proven performance and product innovations dedicated to this industry. www.plxpipe.co.uk

Air-serv The Industry Leader. Our 70 000 locations lead the coin-operated tire inflation and vacuum industry by far. Our air and vacuum machines stay up and running. There when you need them. You Own the Profits. We own the Problems. We buy, install, maintain, secure, and replace our air machines at no costs. Air Is Our Only Business. We care about air, period. We put all of our time, energy, and money into serving our air and vacuum program customers. Our program: ›› No purchase costs ›› no installation costs ›› no maintenance costs ›› no security costs ›› no replacement costs www.air-serv.de

Alfred Kärcher Vertriebs-GmbH This year’s Automechanika will see the first public presentation of Kärcher’s new compact, self-service washes for two to four bays SB MB5/10. These washes require little floor space yet still have enough space to accommodate a softening unit and an osmosis device. All components can be accessed comfortably and quickly, from the pneumatic dosing pumps for applying cleaning agent concentrates to the user-friendly menu-guided controls. With the TB model, Kärcher is bringing to market a new generation of gantry washes for com-mercial vehicles. They are distinguished by their robust engineering, ease of operation, low maintenance and running costs, and high degree of flexibility. The basic wash can be rigged individually from an extensive range of equipment and its dimensions can be ad-justed without problem to the size of hangar. TB washing heights range from 3.60 to 5.05 metres. www.kaercher.de

Autoequip Lavaggi S.p.A. Autoequip Lavaggi S.p.A. was founded in 1963 and today is a leading Car Wash Equipment manufac-turing company, producing state-of-the-art automated systems for the cleaning of pas-senger cars, commercial vehicles and special vehicles, such as trains, metro vehicles, etc. AE Lavaggi S.p.A. manufactures a complete range of roll-over units, conveyor units (tun-nels) and high pressure self-serve jet wash units, beside all ancillary equipment normally installed at wash centers. Among its most innovative and key selling products, AE features its newest TK.5 and TK.Evolution roll-overs models. TK.5 is cur-rently unique to the market, washing cars astonishingly quick and with good quality, using two completely independent, but syn-chronized gantries, each one of them carrying HP pre-wash, brushing and drying devices. TK.Evolution, technologically advanced single roll-over unit, will be available on display at the Automechanika AE booth, with its fashion design and high performance features. www.autoequip.it

erpec delegates at Automechanika 2010, 14 – 19.09.2010



AUtOMECHANIKA 2010

18


C22

C28

b60

A71

d68

A28

A19

A13

A21

A25

A23

A28

Seminars – Hall 10.0 Stand C45

tuesday, 14. 9. 201012:00 Service station safety. Operators’ responsibility for the work

of in-house and external staff. Edmund Brück, representative of the

Gütegemeinschaft Tankschutz e. V., Freiburg

14:00 VDA-compliant car wash facilities – VDA and QMC

wednesday, 15. 9. 201011:00 New line technology for fuels. Saving money and time with

respect to conversions and new plants. Ronald Pinka, Territory

Manager CEE, KPS Petrol Pipe System TM, Kungsör, Sweden

13:00 Car wash architecture and design … From prefab concrete buildings to glass palaces – an analysis of current trends and a glimpse into the future. Crucial factors are the location, available area, surroundings, customer structure and finance options. Joachim Kremser, designer, European Sign Federation, Tönisvorst

15:00 Petrol out – what’s the alternative? Regular petrol is out – what is in? The latest fuel trend – AdBlue soon for passenger cars too? E 85 on the advance? Edmund Brück, Head of Marketing,

Tokheim Service Gruppe, Halle / Saale

thursday, 16. 9. 201011:00 VDA-compliant car wash facilities – VDA and QMC

13:00 The basics of technical law Concise answers to seven basic issues relating to the operation of filling stations. Edmund Brück,

representative of the Partnership for Manufacturer-produced Tanks, Freiburg

15:00 Express wash or individual pre-wash? Investment costs, differences in consumption costs, personnel requirements, customer acceptance. Manfred Aiglstorfer, management consultant

and expert, Gaimersheim

friday, 17. 9. 201012:00 Solar-powered systems for car wash plants Sample calculations

for solar panels and feasibility, discussion of modular, innovatively designed self-service and pressure car wash facilities with and without solar power Bernhard Hahner, Hahner-Stahlbau, Fulda

14:00 Flat rate for accepting filling station cards. Profitable card processing for all customers and across national borders. Dipl.-

Ing. Heinz Maahsen, Head of Sales, Tokheim GmbH, Munich

Car washing and car washing accessories – outdoor hall F_SW and outdoor hall 10_S



protecting your liquid assets

11


C27

C05

b71

A39

A59

b02

A67

b59

b21

b37C70

C58

d83

d83

A03b95

d78

b68

C41

d83

C37

A63

A31

retail petroleum equipment and services – hall 10.0

b05

Car washing and car washing accessories – outdoor hall F_SW and outdoor hall 10_S




brUGG


access chambers, green area chambers, dis-penser chambers, secondary contained remote fill chambers, pipework manifold chambers, electrical drawpits and monitoring well sys-tems. Fibrelite has a global network of dis-tributors. Visit our website for further details. www.fibrelite.com

FLEX-ING FLEX-ING is a leading solu-tions provider for the petroleum and service station equipment industries with a proven commitment to service, quality and technol-ogy. FLEX-ING offers a complete package of fueling system products to a worldwide customer base including major oil companies such as Shell, Chevron / Caltex, Exxon Mo-bil and many more. FLEX-ING values and promotes the advancement of continuous improvement and growth through the ongoing development of new state of the art solutions to meet the needs of this dynamic industry. FLEX-ING’s commitment to excellence is evident in each phase of fueling solutions including fuel dispensing hose, flexible metal connectors, composite manholes and tank top trim hardware. www.flex-ing.com

Franklin Fueling Systems GmbH Franklin Fueling Systems is a leading global manufacturer of incon tank guaging, fuel management and environmental monitoring

systems incorporating FE Petro – Submers-ible pumps, Healy – Vapour stage 2 systems, Autolearn – Patended leak prevention tech-nology. Incon – Remote station management software, EBW / Philtite – Service station valves, containment, covers, APT – Flexible underground fuel pipes and sumps. We invite you to talk with us about solutions and systems that make your service sta-tion operate more efficient, more profitable and with better environmental control. www.franklinfueling.com

Gilbarco Veeder Root Gilbarco Veeder-Root represents the leading brands of solutions and technologies that provide convenience, control, and environmental integrity for retail fuelling and adjacent markets. Providing to convenience stores, hypermarkets and serv-ice stations, products and services include petrol dispensers, tank gauges, submersible pumps, point of sale solutions, back office & service monitoring and service & instal-lation. Veeder-Root is the global leader in wet stock and environmental risk manage-ment. Veeder-Root’s TLS product group is the automatic tank gauge of choice for the worlds leading retail oil companies with over 500 000 tanks monitored across every continent and a commercial and technical support footprint to match. www.gilbarco.eu

Hectronic GmbH Almost 200 employ-ees, company headquarters in Bonndort /Germany, six locations in Brugg / Switzer-land, Paris / France, Tschenstochau / Poland India / Bangalore, Singapore and Chesa-peake / United States. This also means world-wide business relationships and more than 90 distribution partners around the globe. The Company offers a complete product range in the parking and fuelling market segments and has tremendous world standing in terms of quality and innovation. At the Automechanika we will present: ›› Heconomy (new Autofuel Terminal for company filling stations) ›› TFT touch screen ›› HecPoll Software ›› PetroPoint: New receiver with LAN-Interface, Nozzle unit OPW and slim-line II ›› Two new Optilevel controllers with a whole range of functions for tank content management www.hectronic.com

ISTOBAL, S.A. New products from ISTOBAL at Automechanika: ›› New rollo-ver range M’NEX, in single or double-arch version ›› New rollover with M’Tuning op-tion ›› New brush fitting system Link-it, showing the new system at the stand ›› New wash centres N’Joywash, with ranges Pack or Premium ›› Three colour foam ColorFusion for jet washes ›› New cabinet Modulbox for jet washes www.istobal.com

ELAFLEX HIBY Tanktechnik GmbH & Co. Our products and high-lights: ›› ZVG 2 autogas nozzles with ACME, DISH and EURO connectors. ›› New strategic cooperation with L.G. Equipment (GasGuard) Australia: we will show GasGuard nozzles, e. g. the innovative new HiFlo LPG nozzle GG10 and various Acme and Bayonet cou-plings. ›› ZVA Slimline 2 automatic nozzles with and without vapour recovery as well as safety breaks. ›› New LeverAssist for easier handling of ZVA Slimline 2 nozzles. ›› New Direct Print process for ZVA slogan badges, custom made designs from 50 pcs.; online inquiry with ‘BadgeCreator’. ›› Various other novelties. www.elaflex.de

Eurotank Environmental Ltd. Euro-tank Environmental is a specialist contractor consultant providing bio fuel management, Tank and pipeline endoscope investigation and cleaning and integrity testing using unique and in-house developed products.

New for 2010 is the launch of new products and services and new bases to serve its ever increasing list of blue-chip customers from the petroleum and convenience industry.The Global Environmental Alliance will give access to much USA experience and new products, ALERT, PETRO-TITE, MY TANK GAUGE. Eurotank has a licence to install the ZCL insurance backed PHOENIX lining system not dependant on the structure of the existing tank for its structural integrity. www.eurotank.eu.com

FAFNIR GmbH Today, FAFNIR is renowned worldwide for its promise to deliver ultimate level-gauging precision in the mineral oil, pharmaceutical and food industries. The recent integration into the Danaher Corporation in 2010 will play an important role in underpinning FAFNIR’s aspira-tions in all world markets. At FAFNIR, our customer-driven philosophy is at the centre of everything we do. Our customers and partners profit from our vast experience and extensive expertise.We offer target-oriented development pro-grammes, intensive instruction and the high degree of flexibility needed to create individual solutions. Ready to offer its com-petence and expert advice, the professional FAFNIR sales team is on hand to provide support to all our customers and partners. www.fafnir.de

Fibrelite Fibrelite is the world’s leading supplier of lightweight composite manhole covers and GRP underground containment systems. We supply vacuum testable tank


protecting your liquid assets

22

the NCR Octane 2000 e-Products Server sup-ports handling of electronic articles. The first generation of NCR Octane 2000 was installed in 1982, and has since then been installed in more than 20 countries. www.ncr.com

NUPIGECO NUPIGECO – Forerunners in the forecourt industry. NUPIGECO is one of the global leaders in the development and production of the highest quality non-metallic piping systems. The company produces the comprehensive and world known HDPE SMARTFLEX™ piping system, suitable for conveying petroleum products, alcohols and alcohol-gasoline mixtures underground that is used and approved by major international petroleum companies. SMARTFLEX™ is not only pipes and fittings, it is a complete solution that includes a complete range of single and double wall pipes and fittings, sumps, entry boots, tools and accessories and has been field tested in service stations, airport and marina filling points worldwide. The SMARTFLEX™ system boasts of holding full EN and UL approvals for both single and double wall piping systems. www.nupigeco.com

OPW Fueling Components EMEA OPW is one of world’s leading fuelling equip-ment manufacturers. Founded in 1892 in USA, our vision is to revolutionize fuelling operations worldwide. We will present some

of the major products this year in Germany, including OPW TVS – Total Vapour Solution (www.opwtvs.com), revolutionary green vapour recovery technology, in addition to complete CNG and LPG line, Flexworks fuel piping system and CVS2 – ATEX certified Central Vacuum System for Vapour Recovery Stage 2. Tank Gauging and Fuel Management line will also be presented in detail and customers are welcome to visit our stand where we can provide more information. www.opwglobal.com

Otto Christ AG, Wash Systems Otto Christ AG presents its new high-lights at Automechanika 2010. Under the motto

“… we know carwash!” the Otto Christ AG, Washsystems offers the most complete vehicle wash equipment portfolio, accompanied by professional technical support and after-sales services in more than 40 countries. As in previous years Christ is going to intro -duce its latest developments and striking news at the world leading exposition Auto-mechanika 2010 at Frankfurt / Germany, from 14. – 19. September 2010. The management and its professional team would be most delighted to host you at their stand no. B25 on the open area F_SW booth B25. www.christ-ag.com

Petrotec S. A. Petrotec will be present, once again, at the prestigious Automechanika show, where will demonstrate, for the first time, the new models of the Progress range, among other latest developments designed for your success. Progress range of fuel dispensing pumps has an attractive design that brings life to the forecourt. It is the result of knowledge and experience of Petrotec Group, a well established manu-facturer which really listens to its customers. All technologies are 100 percent owned by Petrotec and represent the “state-of-the-art” in this business. Petrotec is a reliable partner which provides global solutions and it is also available for specific developments. Add Value to your Forecourt and attract new customers with Progress Technology! www.petrotec.eu

PetroTechnik Leading worldwide manu-facturer of the UPP Pipe System. Having supplied 46 million feet of pipe, in 30 000 sites, in 150 countries, in 29 years. Petro-Technik has proven UPP to be a safe and reliable underground pipe system. ›› We will be showcasing the new Gemini Secondary Containment. ›› The UPP System includes pipe, entry seals, sumps and access covers providing a complete “Dry System”. ›› UPP is cUL, UL, EN, IP and CARB approved, suitable for suction or pressure systems, vent and vapour recovery. ›› Stop by for a chat and refreshment with our industry experts. www.petrotechnik.com

KPS Petrol Pipe System KPS Petrol Pipe System™ and KPS LPG Pipe System™ Come by for a chat and a look at our new prod-ucts: Plastic petrol pipes approved for use in Germany, new range of transition fittings and plastic LPG pipes with CE approval. Products on show includes: Petrol pipes, LPG pipes, electrical / data ducts, welding sockets & fittings, tank and dispenser chambers, leak detection, entry seals, installation and testing equipment.Talk to us about our training and certification program for installers, technical support for designers & project managers and on-site installation support. Suffering from the heat? We have water bottles! www.kpsystem.com

Lafon S.A.S. LAFON, French manu-facturer leader of petroleum equipment, is the only one offering a complete range of equipments covering storage, delivery, fuel and bio-fuel management system, feature which provides an overview of the station business and leads LAFON to be recognized by the great outsourcers. In the stand – Nr C 70 – hall 10.0 – the LAFON expertise will be introduced through a complete service station with the main petroleum equipment: ›› Storage tanks ›› Mobile fuel station built in a container ISO ›› Fuel dispensers for petrol stations ›› Payment systems for public service ›› Fleet management for private stations ›› Fittings and valves www.lafon.fr

MEPSAN PETROLEUM EQUIP-MENT CO. MEPSAN, establish in 1992, has become a reliable and respected brand in the international petroluem equipment market. MEPSAN offers a world standard quality products & service to deliver comprehensive retail solutions. MEPSAN provides leading refueling systems that creates a competitive and differentiating marketing edge. MEPSAN`s PRODUCT RANGE involves: ›› Fuel Dispenser ›› LPG Dispenser ›› Submersible Tribune Pumps ›› Forecourt Automation Solution ›› Air Gauges ›› Air compressors ›› Self-storage mobile stationsMEPSAN offers customer-oriented flexible solutions, based on the applications of the ultimate technologies and the principle of leading its business environment. MEPSAN realizes your requirements by the products and solutions it provides. www.mepsan.com.tr

NCR Danmark A/S NCR Octane 2 000 provides solutions for managing all aspects of the business at petrol sites, and can be easily configured for custom specific requirements. NCR Octane 2000 supports traditional manned petrol sites as well as unmanned sites (satellites). The satellite solution provides a cost effective way of managing multiple sites from one control center. The NCR Octane 2000 Pricebook is an advanced tool for Category Management and




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TATSUNO-BENC EUROPE is successfully expanding its distributor network and is sup-plying its products to end-users in all areas of Europe including Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bosnia, Litthuania, the Ukraine, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In the former Soviet Union, our joint company TATSUNO S-BENC operates in Russia and UKR-BENC in the Ukraine. www.benc.cz

TCI Environment International nv STCI Environment International nv (TCI), founded in 1992, member of the CGH Group, specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of fibers re-enforced thermoplastic pipe systems and associated products for the transport of hazardous liquids and gases in both the upstream and downstream segments of the petroleum industry in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.Protection of the underground and the vital groundwater is our aim! TCI’s flexible pipe systems are applied in service stations, fuel distribution facilities and in the chemical industry. Recently introduced are flexible re-enforced pipes for underground transport of LPG. With the Thermoflex pipe technology TCI recently entered the oil and gas sector, offering pipe systems for both downhole and

flow line applications. TCI brings more than 20 years of non-metallic pipework design and project engineering experience in both the upstream and downstream segments of the petroleum industry. www.tci-e.com

Tokheim Group S.A.S Tokheim is made up of skilled and dedicated people – we are product developers, engineers and retail tech-nology experts – but most of all we are problem solvers. We combine an intelligent grasp of business with a passion for developing fuel- retailing solutions. Three business divisions serve our customers’ needs. Our Dispenser Division develops and manufactures quality fuel dispensers and pumps. Our Systems Division provides EPOS, payment terminals and media devices. Tokheim’s world-renowned Service Division offers clients a range of sup-port and maintenance services. We are proud to meet our customers’ entire fuel dispensing needs, wherever in the world they operate. At this year’s Automechanika we would like to invite you to discover the full range of our innovative solutions; packed with new features designed for today’s petrol retailing environment. ›› Quantium 10 series – Tokheim’s latest fuel dispenser range with powerful new features and options ›› Crypto VGA – An innovation in secure, outdoor payment ›› Fuel POS – The industry’s premier EPOS solution ›› Portfolio of Services – Discuss your individual needs with a team of friendly professionals at our stand. www.tokheim.com

WashTec Cleaning Technology GmbH With more than 1 250 square metres of exhibition space, WashTec, the industry leader in vehicle washing solutions will be showing exciting new products and industry trends from rollover car washes, conveyors, commercial vehicle wash systems, SB washing technology, water purification equipment, advanced chemicals for both vehicle washing and maintenance care, local marketing training and on site advertising materials and financial service.Among the highlights at this year’s Autome-chanika, the WashTec stand will have the Ea-syWash a highly compact and uncomplicated rollover car wash system for motor vehicle companies and car dealerships, SoftLine², the latest generation of car wash modular sytems for maximum throughput volumes, or Moto-Wash, the washing system developed especially for the target group of motorcycle riders.In addition, WashTec is also presenting in Frankfurt an especially user-friendly car wash system control unit designed for maximum simplicity of control via menus; it can be operated with a touchscreen, a PC, or even with a hand-held Smartphone. www.washtec.com

PWM GmbH & Co. KG PWM® – means Profits with Marketing. Specialist for electronic Price Signs and LED Profitboards® for service stations.PWM offers customer-designed electronic price signs and LED panels which are devel-oped 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. www.pwm.com

Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH Scheidt & Bachmann have a long history working with the leading independent fuel retailers and Mineral Oil Companies throughout Europe for more than 75 years. Scheidt & Bachmann are justifiably recognised as the dispenser, pay @ pump & retail systems experts by the petro-leum industry. Product range: Petrol station and network management systems, dispensers, outdoor payment terminals, pay @ pump, cash management, and system service: installation, maintenance, repairs, helpdesk, and training. Highlights: New generation outdoor payment terminal with banknote acceptance and barcode scanner for voucher acceptance, cash manage-ment solution for secure cash handling, extension of functionalities of petrol station manage-ment systems. www.scheidt-bachmann.com

SGB GmbH SGB leak detection technology for 100 percent continuous monitoring of double walled tanks and pipes. Leaks are detected and indicated before any product can enter the environment. SGB has more than 46 years experience and our technology realize the highest environmental protection level in accordance to Class I, EN 13160. Today more than 300 000 systems are in use and nearly all international operating mineral oil companies belong to our satisfied customers. www.sgb.de

TATSUNO-BENC EUROPE a.s. TATSUNO-BENC petrol & gas pumps are compatible with the standards set by leading international world manufacturers in this field. The design and performance of the products come up to even the most demanding customer requirements. The product range also includes operating / till systems, systems for tank man-agement and leak detection and accessories such as vacuum cleaners, compressors etc. TATSUNO-BENC EUROPE is increasing its market share thanks to the quality, precision, durabilty, ease of use, and competitive prices of its products. The high quality of our products is ensured by our use of the highest-quality components.The company operates under an accredited Quality Assurance Sytem to International Standard ISO 9001.




AUtOMECHANIKA 2010


NEwS – EUrOPE

first unmanned service station for rosneft

Rosneft, one of the largest fuel companies of Russia, launched its first unattended self-service petrol station last month. The station is equipped with Petrol POSes, self-service payment terminals with improved design and advanced software, developed by NCT Group. The payment terminals are designed to accept cash, fuel cards and bank cards of international systems. Petrol POSes are installed directly into the station building structure, thus mak-ing the process of refuelling and payment quick and convenient, and saving limited space at the non-attended petrol station. The pumps for the Rosneft station are supplied by Tatsuno S-Bench. It should be noted, that the SERVIO pump manage-ment system at the unattended station is supplied by NCT Group. In the case of unmanned stations it automates all the operations, establishes control over the equipment and secures the acceptance of various payment means.

SHELL Gibraltar up for saleSHELL announced last month that it is seeking “interest from potential buyers for its downstream businesses in Gibraltar in line with its strategy to concentrate its global downstream footprint”. Local SHELL Chief Harry Murphy said: “Although the decision to seek interest for the SHELL businesses in Gibraltar is a strategic one, we believe that our businesses, like selected others across

the global business, provide an attractive opportunity for an investor to purchase an integrated, cost-efficient and professional marketing business including filling stations, with an established presence in the country.” It’s early days yet but an obvious potential buyer is CEPSA Gibraltar which already has half of the airport fuel business with SHELL and a major local presence.

More stations for Georgia

The State oil company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR is expanding its network of petrol stations across Georgia. By the end of the year SOCAR plans to open another 20 filling stations to take its total to 60 outlets. SOCAR has a range of interests in Georgia, including petrol stations. It owns the Kulevi oil terminal on the Black Sea coast, delivers 70 percent of Georgia’s requirements for natural gas and is expanding the gas supply to the town of Poti.

New sites for Croatia’s Agrokor KonzumAgrokor’s Konzum from Croatia is preparing to add petrol filling stations to ten of its retail outlets. The retailer is currently preparing the documents required to start construction and the project could get underway by the end of 2010. The forecourt sector in Croatia is currently represented by Hungarian MOL, OMV and Russian LUKOIL.

Stage II for IsraelIsrael’s Environmental Protection Minister has called on all gas stations in Israel to install stage II vapour recovery systems. The obli-gation to install and operate stage II will be incorporated in the business licenses of all of Israel’s gasoline stations. Minister Erdan said, “Vapours emitted from gas stations pollute the air and harm public health. Therefore I ordered all gas stations to install stage II to reduce pollution”.

24hour shops to close in SwitzerlandA court ruling upholding a ban on 24-hour opening hours at petrol station shops has raised questions about Switzerland’s strict Sunday and evening labour laws. For the past two years, seven petrol stations in canton Zurich have been defying a recently introduced law on late-night trading by opening their shops from 1 – 5 am. But no longer. In July the Fed-eral Court upheld a general ban on opening shops at petrol stations late at night, ruling that there could be no exceptions. Although canton Zurich tolerated the stations’ late-

night shopping hours, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs moved for the petrol station shops to be shut at night, pointing to the ban on late-night work introduced in 2008. Three BP petrol stations then appealed against the decision. The motion was rejected by the Federal Administrative Court in October 2009 and then again by the Federal Court last month. In Switzerland, labour law states that work at night and on Sunday is only allowed if it is

“essential”. It also must remain the exception, not the rule.

turkey’s OPEt to trade distillates in AsiaTurkey’s OPET, which began trading marine fuels in Singapore last year, plans to branch out into middle distillates and expand its fuel oil volumes in the growing Asian market, a

senior official informed. OPET, which has a large network of petrol stations in Turkey, aims to start off with jet fuel trading, mainly to supply the distillate-short country.


NEwS – EUrOPE

Government reviews Spain’s fuel retail policy

Card transactions cost far too much in Poland

UK car washes prosper despite recession

The Spanish government is to review its poli-cies relating to the fuel retail industry due to low levels of competition and rising fuel prices. If the review is passed, the Spanish service station sector could attract more su-permarket players. At present, a total of 250 service stations are supermarket branded, most of which are owned by Carrefour, Eroski, Bonarea and Alcampo. In light of the review, Carrefour and Alcampo have already shown

The costs of card transactions in Poland are some of the highest in Europe, meaning that it is still impossible to pay with plastic in many stores nationwide. A number of large firms have teamed up under the auspices of the Lewiatan Polish Confederation of Private Employers in order to put pressure on banks to lower commission charges placed on card payments. The largest

UK motorists spent a whopping £ 523 million on car washes last year despite thinking that washing our own cars achieves better results, finds Datamonitor. Research by the indepen-dent business analyst has revealed that UK customers are far more likely to pay for their cars to be washed than do it themselves. Da-tamonitor found that last year each car in the UK was cleaned more than 8 times in total – and drivers paid to get it cleaned an average of 5 times, spending £ 15 on commercial car washing in the year. When paying, it is hand car washes that are winning in the commer-cial sector. Although the jet wash and more traditional automatic car washes still have a firm future on forecourts in the UK, hand car washes, including those we see in our super-

an interest in expanding their footprint going forward. Spain’s service station retail industry is highly concentrated, with over 70 percent of fuel volumes sold by the top three players: Repsol, Cepsa and BP. The remaining share is held by other players including Disa, Galp, Q8 and Petrocat. Furthermore, the market is vertically integrated, with about half of all service stations owned by oil companies that have upstream operations.

companies in Poland pay an average commission of 1.6 percent on card transactions, although that figure is often above 3 percent, while the EU average for commission on card purchases is only 0.3 percent. Even though the value of card transactions rose to almost 76 billion zloty in 2009, many shops in Poland still do not offer card payments for clients due to the expense.

market car parks, now account for 45 percent of the commercial wash market. However, service station car washes are fighting back. Operators are highlighting the environmental benefits of using automatic machines over hand washing – a relevant issue, especially with water shortages and a hosepipe ban for much of the north west of England. The UK still lags behind much of Europe in acting on the environmental impact of commercial car washing. For example, in Germany stringent water recycling regulation means that in many regions it is illegal for motorists to wash their car at home. Consequently last year German motorists spent on average £ 35 at commercial car washes – over twice the amount spent by motorists in the UK.

Applegreen creates 300 new jobs in Ireland

Around 300 new jobs are to be created with the opening of the Ireland’s first motorway service areas at three locations. Applegreen are recruiting after landing contracts to operate the service areas in counties Dublin, Louth and Kildare. The service areas will feature Burger King and Costa Coffee restaurants, showers, rest areas, playgrounds, and fuel

outlets. Construction is in the final stages. The Lusk northbound site will be the first to open in early autumn. Sites at Castlebel-lingham and Enfield will follow. Petrogas, the Irish firm that operates the Applegreen filling stations, recently reported that full-year profits plummeted to 1.7 million euros last year from 5.4 million euros in the previous year. Applegreen is part of the SuperStop consortium, which was awarded a public private partnership contract by the National Roads Authority. The announcement of the new jobs comes as reports over the weekend suggested that Eircom, Bank of Ireland and AIB are planning to lay off up to 4 000 workers.

Axfood receives Preem contract in Sweden

SUbwAY to open in CEE petrol locations

Swedish food retailer Axfood AB Informed it would provide service station products, retail food, fast food and convenience food to filling stations owned by local Preem Petroleum AB under a two-year agree-ment. The value of the contract was not disclosed. Axfood landed the deal via its wholesale subsidiary Axfood Narlivs AB. Preem is owned by Saudi Arabian tycoon Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

US-based sandwich chain Subway is plan-ning expansion in fuel stations in Central and Eastern Europe. Its first petrol station restaurant was opened in late June in Pyr-zowice, Katowice in Poland, at a BP fuel station. Martin Prince, Subway Manager of Network Development for CEE, said Subway was considering partnering with local petrol station chains. He said: “Sub-way is trying to develop branches in non-traditional locations such as hospitals, adminis trative centres or airports worldwide. Poland is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe where we opened a Subway restaurant at a petrol station. In the future we are also interested in locations such as car showrooms.” Last year, for example, Subway opened its first outlets in admin-istrative centres in Prague and Warsaw.

UK vehicle surveillance records on databaseThe average motorist in the UK has the details of 200 of their journeys stored on the Government’s controversial vehicle sur-veillance database, new figures have shown. The records, which include photographs of private cars, can be secretly handed by ministers to the governments of other European countries or the United States. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act disclosed that 7.6 billion entries are currently stored on the police automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) database. The database is constantly fed pictures and details of journeys by Britain’s 38 million motorists as they drive past thousands of cameras across the country. It was also disclosed that the records can be stored “for as long as is operationally necessary”. It was previously thought most were destroyed after a month and none was kept for more than five years.

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

fail safe overfill prevention from fAfNIr

ConocoPhillips decide on Scheidt & bachmann

Autofuel system meets POS system

Eurotank and GEA sign European deal

FAFNIR is proud to announce their GWG Electronic Overfill Systems has now been installed on more than 20 000 Service Sta-tions in Europe. Customers they say preferred this solution due to its fail safe operation and attractive return on Investment. As the GWG Sensor is not installed in the Fill Pipe of the Tank, the filling speed can be increased substantially, shortening the time of trucks on site. Overfill prevention on Service stations is mandatory in most countries in Europe and increasingly worldwide. Tradi-tionally, prevention is practised by installing mechanical overfill devices located in the fill pipe of the tank. Some markets in central

ConocoPhillips Germany has decided to deploy the Scheidt & Bachmann petrol sta-tion management system TMS 30 into their petrol station network. Prior to the order, the system had to navigate an intensive six month evaluation and test period. During the evalu-ation, two petrol stations were equipped with Scheidt & Bachmann TMS 30. The overall concept presented by Scheidt & Bachmann was the key to the success, with a very con-vincing showing in the areas of performance, reliability and security. In addition to the systems ordered, Scheidt & Bachmann were awarded with the contract to provide elements

Hectronic and Task Technology have entered into a strategic partnership. This cooperation joins two refuelling specialists with broad experience. On one side there is Hectronic, the company group, with its headquarters in Bonndorf / Germany (Black Forest) and subsidiaries in France, Austria, Poland, India, USA and Switzerland, which has a complete range of refuelling products with a focus on autofuel systems. On the other side there is Ettlingen / Germany based Task Technology, which has been successful on the market

Eurotank Environmental Limited, a leading provider of fuel storage system maintenance services, has recently completed the train-ing of it’s key management staff in GEA’s extensive range of environmental testing and compliance solutions with full training being currently rolled out to it’s technicians based in Southampton, Manchester and East Kilbride. Eurotank, which will provide GEA’s services in the UK and Ireland, has been selected by GEA as it’s European partner and as such is seeking to find partners in other European countries.

OPW Fueling Components, is proud to an-nounce that it has received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Listing for its new 21Ge™ Series Nozzles, ethanol swivels, breakaways and its 10 Plus Emergency Shut-Off Valve for use in applications containing ethanol concentrations up to 85 percent. Now say OPW, our customers can dispense E85 with complete confidence and peace of mind.

Europe however converted their sites using Electronic Overfill devices warranting fail-safe operation all the time. A simple but very useful extension of the GWG System, is a combination with Cross-Over-Prevention Sensory (ASS) which is used by a large number of FAFNIR customers. The FAFNIR GWG System will reduce the environmental risk on service stations substantially and due to shorter offloading times will lead to less obstruction on sites. More than 100 000 tanks on service stations plus more than 3 000 000 industrial installations of this maintenance free FAFNIR Technology they say speaks for itself.

of the after sales services. Within the scope of this service package, Scheidt & Bachmann provides system training, as well as helpdesk and second-third level support.

This is particularly good news after the success-ful deployment of Scheidt & Bachmann CLOU dispensers at a large number of ConocoPhil-lips service stations.“This contract is proof of our capabilities. We thank ConocoPhillips for their trust in us and we are looking forward to continue our very good cooperation in the future”, emphasises Martin Kammler, Manag-ing Director of Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH.

with their POS systems for the past 30 years. The success also includes Switzerland, and this is why the companies have entered into a cooperation. Hectronic will act as distribution partner for Task Technology’s POS systems in Switzerland. “This is another step to establish ourselves as a system solution supplier”, em-phasizes Carlos Klöti, Managing Director from Hectronic Switzerland. And a logical step at that, since the company entered the market successfully with several autofuel systems some years ago.

IStObAL in 3 year deal with MorrisonsISTOBAL, Europe’s largest manufacturer of vehicle wash equipment, are pleased to have secured a 3 year supply deal with Morrisons for approximately 90 new Rollover Car Washes. The first 40 machines are being installed over the next 3 months and are replacing various competitor units. “This is an extremely valued contract and we are pleased that Morrisons have put their faith and trust in our honest approach”, says ISTOBAL UK Operations Manager Steven Dunne. “We are pleased to have such a high profile customer as Mor-risons.” ISTOBAL installed 23 machines last year for Morrisons and the reliability and performance of the equipment together with their unrivalled back up service, led to them winning this new contract. Mark Todd, Director of Petrol for Morrisons added: “Cus-tomers and staff have been pleased with the operability and service from ISTOBAL. We welcome ISTOBAL to our business and look forward to working with them.”


New UL listing for OPw

New thermal printer from franklin

Franklin Fueling Systems unveiled the latest advancement to its T5 Series Fuel Manage-ment System with the introduction of a new thermal printer; now the standard printer option on all T5 Series tank gauges. The new thermal printer option replaces the previous ink-ribbon printer option and provides several new convenient features. The new features on the thermal printer include a faster printing speed, as well as a higher quality printing for easily read reports. The thermal printer eliminates the need to replace ink cartridges and utilizes a common paper type that can be found locally.

Tanknology Inc. announced that a new licensee in Turkey has recently completed certification training and has begun providing the com-pany’s underground storage tank (UST), line and leak detector testing services throughout the country. Istanbul-based INTERPET is a nearly 20-year-old petroleum equipment distribution and services company, with an extensive presence across Turkey.

New tanknology licensee


AUtOMECHANIKA 2010



Convenience Stores Leasing & Management LLC, CSL&M has purchased a group of 63 Mequon, Wisconson based Bulk Petroleum Corp. gas station sites for US $11 million, according to court documents. One of the four investors in CSLM includes Bachan Signh, a first cousin once removed of Bulk Petroleum principal and owner Darshan Dhaliwal, accord-ing to the documents. The 63 sites purchased include 24 stores in Kentucky, 15 stores in Iowa, 15 stores in Indiana, seven stores in Michigan and one store each in Illinois and Missouri. Bulk Petroleum is expected to con-tinue to supply gasoline to a majority of the sold sites. Bulk Petroleum, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Feb-ruary 2009, proposed a reorganization that includes selling more than 100 gas stations with proceeds paying a portion of the debts. The company operated and supplies fuel to approximately 350 to 400 locations in Wiscon-sin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee. A total of 53 other locations, comprised of operating stations, closed stations and land sites, remain available for purchase. Glen Kunofsky, senior Vice President at Marcus & Millichap, said, “The balance of the Bulk Petroleum portfolio provides a potential buyer or buyers with an opportunity to establish a strategic presence in important U.S. markets. We are confident the remaining properties will be sold quickly”.

USA News

bP offers US petrol stations for sale

BP has decided to put 114 petrol stations and convenience stores in 22 US states up for sale.According to BP’s broker, Jones Lang LaSalle, the majority of the properties are being mar-keted as redevelopment sites, while some are being offered as part of potential franchise deals. The decision to sell its sites is in line with the company’s plan to exit from direct retail ownership a few years ago.

Pilot travel and flying j complete merger

7-Eleven to purchase virginia petrol stations

Murphy Oil concentrate on filling stations

bulk Petroleum sites sold off for US $11 millionPilot Travel Centres and Flying J have com-

pleted the merger of the two companies, creating an expanded network of more than 550 interstate travel centres and travel plazas. The new centres will be focused on superior customer service and enhanced offerings for professional drivers and travelling motorists. The new company, to be called Pilot Flying J, now operates in 43 states and six Canadian provinces. It is one of the top 10 privately held companies in the US. “We are now one great company, two great brands”, said Pilot Flying J President and CEO Jimmy Haslam. “Our

7-Eleven has agreed to purchase 14 gasoline stations in Virginia from Quarles Petroleum. The outlets will be rebranded as 7-Eleven stores, but will continue to sell SHELL gasoline. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The deal is part of a 20-store disposal programme Quarles offered through

Murphy Oil Corp. is putting its three petro -leum refineries up for sale, including one in Superior, as the Arkansas-based company focuses on its national chain of filling sta-tions. In Superior in the far northwestern corner of Wisconsin, officials were confident that Murphy would find a buyer to keep the 35 000-barrel-a-day refinery in business. Murphy has spent tens of millions of dollars in the past decade to upgrade the facility. In a conference call with securities analysts, Murphy chief executive David Wood said he

new organisation is a combination of two of the best-known brands in the travel centre industry, both with strong family histories and shared values”, he added.

Matrix Capital Markets Group. A 7-Eleven spokesperson said starting this month, the new 7-Eleven outlets will be remodelled, yet remain open during the work. The stores will be equipped to sell 7-Eleven products like coffee, Slurpee and Big Gulp beverages. The outlets will be offered for franchise.

does not have a buyer, although Murphy has received unsolicited offers. He cannot predict if Murphy will find a single buyer for all the refineries or sell them individually, but he expects to complete the divestment by the first quarter of 2011. Murphy also will sell its retail network of petrol stations in the United Kingdom. “By exiting the refining business, we can fully focus our attention and resources on continuing that growth, developing a premier international upstream business and a top quartile U.S. retail franchise”, Wood said.

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In an attempt to boost the use of ethanol as a vehicle fuel, South Dakota, US, is to award a US $ 1 million (1.2 million euros) grant to a possible install of 100 ethanol blender pumps at fuel stations across the state. The funding came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act incentive and will be used fit an additional 49 filling stations with around 100 blender pumps in 40 South Dakota communities. This will add to South Dakota’s 42 existing service stations offering blender pumps, something

South dakota pushes ethanolthat is available in only 14 US states. Dennis Daugaard, Lt. Gov. of South Dakota, said: ‘These pumps will conveniently tailor the amount of ethanol in fuel to fit the capabi-lities of various vehicles. That will not only benefit motorists but also should increase ethanol use.’ The news comes as the US biofuels industry is expected to find out this summer whether the Environmental Protection Agency will increase the fuel blend percentage in the US to 15 percent, up from 10 percent.

LAtESt USA NEwS – www.PEtrOLPLAzA.COM

ALTERNATIVEFUeL News

LAtESt NEwS, EvENtS, jObS ONLINE – www.PEtrOLPLAzA.COMLAtESt NEwS, EvENtS, jObS ONLINE – www.PEtrOLPLAzA.COMLAtESt ALtErNAtIvE fUEL NEwS – www.PEtrOLPLAzA.COM

Ethanol versus Petrol: the basics by: John Cadogan

The problem with electric vehicles, when the batteries go flat, is that they take too long to recharge. Not any more. A Japanese company, JFE Engineering, have made strong development progress which could see battery charge times slashed from hours to just a few minutes. Outlined in a recent report, JFE Engineering claimed to have produced a quick charger which can replenish 50 percent of an EV’s battery level in just three minutes. The company also claims the system could recharge up to 70 percent in just five minutes.

the 3-minute charger

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There’s been a lot of controversy, but ethanol in petrol is here to stay. E85-compatible en-gines will be with us very soon in an attempt to get fuel companies to supply even higher ethanol blends than are currently available. Amid all the anti-ethanol hysteria and fuel-company hype, not very much has ever really been explained about the key differences between the two fuels. Most cars can run E10 – a 10 percent blend of ethanol in petrol. Ethanol doesn’t destroy engines, but it can eat into the materials used in incompatible fuel systems (sealers and linings; that kind of thing) and the byproducts of that corrosion can block fuel injectors, which can be costly.

What’s ethanol? – It’s a basic alcohol, the same stuff as in beer, wine and spirits. It can be made by fermentation of a variety of different energy-dense foods. In Australia, the majority of ethanol is produced from wheat. It can also be made from sugar and many other starchy crops – as well as from industrial, domestic and agricultural waste using chemically engineered microbes.

Energy – Petrol contains more energy than ethanol. If you burn one litre of ethanol you get 23.5 million joules of energy. If you burn one litre of petrol you get 33.5 million joules. That means there’s about 30 percent less energy in a tank full of ethanol, com-pared with the same volume of petrol. And that means there’s about three percent less energy in E10 compared with regular petrol. That means fuel consumption goes up by three percent if you use E10. So if it’s not at least three percent cheaper than regular petrol, motorists are cheating themselves. It also means if you ran a car on 100 percent ethanol, fuel consumption would increase by more than 40 percent, although it’s not advisable to do that as car engines don’t like to start in the cold on E100. Which is why E85 is pretty much the upper limit for ethanol / petrol blends. You need to burn 1.4 litres of ethanol to get the same energy

as one litre of petrol. Cruising range drops on E10 too which is something long-distance drivers have to also consider.

Greenhouse – One litre of ethanol produces 1.5 kg of CO

2 when you burn it. One litre of petrol emits 2.2 kg of CO2. But since 1.4 litres of ethanol and 1.0 litre of petrol contain the same amount of energy, maybe that’s a better CO2 yardstick comparison. And 1.4 litres of ethanol emits 2.15 kg of CO2 – so, joule-for-joule, there’s not much in it from a greenhouse perspective.

How engines work – Engines don’t just burn fuel – they compress the air around it first. Compressing the fuel / air mix prior to combustion allows the expansion to occur over a greater range than just burning it out in the open, increasing the efficiency of the operation. More efficiency means more of the 33.5 million joules in every litre of petrol get converted into torque at the crankshaft. Less is lost out the exhaust pipe as waste heat. So, the more the compression, the more the efficiency. Only there are physical limits to the amount of compression the fuel / air mix will tolerate before it begins to burn autonomously creating pinging and knocking sounds from the engine

Octane rating is a measure of a fuel’s resist-ance to combustion (self-ignition or auto-ignition, and also knock / pinging) when compressed. So, higher-octane fuels resist auto-ignition better; they can be compressed more. So they can produce more torque and have greater efficiency. But if you run a high-octane fuel in an engine designed for low octane, there’s no benefit. This is essentially what you’re doing when you run an ethanol blend in a petrol engine. A common misconception is that high-octane fuels have more energy in them. Not true! They allow greater compression, delivering more torque at the crank via increased thermodynamic efficiency. Octane is a carbon chemical (eight carbon atoms and 18 hydrogens) which petrol approximates. The chemical with an octane rating of 100 (to which the 91, 95 and 98 fuels commonly on sale compare in percentage resistance to pinging terms) is an isomer of octane called 2-2-4 tri-methyl pentane, which is a specific architecture of eight carbons and 18 hydrogens. They all

have the same amount of energy on offer in the various arrangements of the atoms, just the resistance to pinging or knocking changes.

Ethanol offers a greater octane rating than petrol. So putting an ethanol blend in an engine designed for petrol means in theory it could handle more compression, produce more power and operate more efficiently. Only the compression ratio is set at the factory and that’s usually set for petrol.This means ethanol blends won’t be as thermally efficient in most engines, compared with straight petrol. Modern engines adapt slightly to higher octane fuels by increasing the spark advance, but the benefit is tiny compared to increasing the compression to suit the octane rating. The only real way to solve this problem is to vary the compression, and the only real way to do that is via variable-boost turbo-charging, where the effective compres-sion ratio can be varied to suit the fuel’s octane rating by changing the pressure of the post-turbo inlet air mix. E50 can tolerate something like 19:1 compression, with the right additional controls in place. Ordinary petrol likes 10.5:1 or thereabouts – slightly more with direct injection.

Subject to all these caveats, the bottom line is that, broadly, to perform the same job as an equivalent volume of petrol, you’d need to burn about 40 percent more pure ethanol and it would emit the same, or very similar amount of CO

2 and if the blend of petrol and ethanol varies, hi-tech turbo-charging will be required to exploit the fuel to the best effect.


PSd

If you have not yet sent us your logo and website address, please do so for the next issue by mailing [email protected]

www.air-serv.eu

www.alucobond.com

www.alcoa.com

www.psdcodax.com

www.washtec.de

www.tokheim.com

www.stc-norway.com

www.dresserwayne.com

www.plxpipe.com

www.aspentech.com

www.atosworldline.com

www.ceccato.it

www.brugg.de

www.beverinnovations.com

www.bennett-sauser.ch

www.bennettpump.com

www.planova.com

www.sloanled.com

www.tammerneon.com

www.eurotank.eu.com

www.franklinfueling.com

www.hectronic.com

www.gilbarco.eu

www.fafnir.com

www.iisltd.com

www.istobal.com

TM

www.tebodin.com

www.nupigeco.com

www.mepsan.com.tr

www.mueller-offenburg.de

www.kaercher.com

www.leightonobrien.com

www.kpsystem.com

www.kubald.com

www.opw-fce.com

www.scheidt-bachmann.com

www.ruudlighting.net & www.ruudled.net

www.secu-tech.at

www.ono-oil.com

www.tanknology.com

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