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Austria plans regulation of <strong>fuel</strong> prices People’s Party’s (ÖVP) Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner has called for the creation of a stricter <strong>fuel</strong> price monitoring programme. Mitterlehner explained that his ministry plans to set up a “price corridor” valid for periods such as heavy vehicle traffic like weekends or holidays. The system will mean that Austria’s <strong>fuel</strong> stations must not charge more than the average price they are given for a seven to ten days period. Mitterlehner dismissed fears that <strong>fuel</strong> stations would jack up their prices disproportionally in the time span when prices were checked. He claimed that competition would avert such action. <strong>Oil</strong> not for sale until 2018 says russia ExxonMobil and their Russian partners Rosneft have a few billion barrels of oil waiting to come to market out of the Black Sea and deep Arctic. Rosneft shattered BP’s hopes of exploiting Russian Arctic oil last May by pulling out of a planned joint venture with the British giant after losing patience with protracted negotiations. ExxonMobil gladly took their place. But the oil and gas won’t be coming to market anytime soon and not until 2018 at the earliest says Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. According to Rosneft, the estimated oil in place is 35.8 billion barrels and the estimated natural gas in those fields is estimated to be close to 10 trillion cubic metres, or 364 trillion cubic feet. sainsbury to buy 18 TOTAL filling stations J Sainsbury plc in the UK is set to buy 18 filling stations currently under the TOTAL brand from private equity firm Rontec Investments LLP, highlighting the continued importance of <strong>fuel</strong> to supermarkets as they try to attract cash-strapped customers. The retailer said the deal is subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading, but didn’t say how much it Cartel to investigate oil <strong>companies</strong> Germany’s competition authority has announced it has opened an investigation into five main oil refiners suspected of hampering smaller filling-station competitors. The Cartel Office said the five multinational oil <strong>companies</strong>, which also own most German filling stations, constituted an oligopoly. Soaring <strong>fuel</strong> prices have triggered political friction in Germany with some politicians advocating a form of price control or additional tax rebates to ease would be paying for the service stations “The acquisitions provide a unique opportunity to support our plans for growth and to extend the reach of the Sainsbury’s brand”, said Phillip Bell-Brown, Director of property development at the company. Currently Sainsbury has an 8.7 percent share of the U.K. <strong>fuel</strong> market, with 262 outlets. the strain on commuters. The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn said independent retailers which buy petrol and diesel <strong>fuel</strong> from the five big oil groups had complained they sometimes had to pay a higher wholesale price than the retail price at filling stations. Independents sell about 13 percent of German <strong>fuel</strong> and, retail <strong>fuel</strong> prices sometimes change two or three times a day with motorists cruise to find the cheapest. exxonMobil continue sale of <strong>fuel</strong> stations ExxonMobil Corp has put 78 French gas stations up for sale, part of a wider effort to sell out of such activities in Europe. Esso France Chief Executive Francis Duseux has said there could be an agreement on the sale of the French service stations within weeks. ExxonMobil operates a total of 680 gas stations in France under the Esso brand name. Such gasoline distribution activities are seen as too unprofitable to justify tying up ExxonMobil’s capital and the stations will likely be sold to operators who would continue to operate under the Esso brand and be supplied through longterm contracts. In addition to independents, potential buyers for the service stations include Russia’s LUKOIL and Israel’s Delek. Timico expands Murco Petroleum network UK managed services provider Timico has rolled out additional technology to Murco Petroleum service stations. Murco has added 3G capability to its existing Timico WAN. The new Timico Mobile Access Management (MAM) service will allow systems in all of Murco Petroleum’s network of service stations across England, Scotland and Wales to automatically switch to the failsafe wireless back-up if connectivity is lost during business hours. Timico has provided Murco with a Private Wide Area Network (PWAN) to connect all of its retail sites to head office for seven years. latest news, events, jobs online – www.PetrolPlaza.com News – eUrOPe welcome Break signs IT services deal UK service station group Welcome Break has signed a three-year IT services contract with Phoenix to support its network of 27 motorway retail complexes. Contract covers maintenance, desktops and servers. The Welcome Break sites cover a total of 265 units, including Starbucks, KFC, Burger King and Eat In catering units, Waitrose and WHSmith retail units, Days Inn hotels and Shell and BP <strong>fuel</strong> forecourts. Phoenix has been providing IT support to Welcome Break since 2005. The value of the latest contract extension has not been disclosed. David Willock, director of IT at Welcome Break, said all the company’s site units use Welcome Break systems and processes, including electronic point of sale (EPOS), stock control and payroll. First automated <strong>fuel</strong>ling complex in Ukraine SOCAR Energy Ukraine has opened the first automated filling complex in Ukraine – SOCAR Rapid. It will be run without operators and service station attendants, “It will feature consistently high quality <strong>fuel</strong> at a lower price”, a statement said. Customers can fill cars by brand <strong>fuel</strong> Nano 95, Nano diesel, A 95 and A 92 at prices lower than usual. One person will oversee the operation of the equipment, if necessary, explain the customer rules for using equipment and monitor the cleanliness of the area.The station will operate 24 hours a day all year. Goodbye my friend The funeral of Alex Galanis, who was killed tragically in a motorcycle accident last month, took place in his home town of Tonbridge, Kent, UK, on April 19th. At a special memorial service, held on the same afternoon, over 400 mourners packed into the Tonbridge School chapel to hear readings and sing hymns to celebrate his life. His family have set up a website in his name to raise money for the many charities close to his heart www.alexgalanisfoundation.org He will be sadly missed by me a great many other people. Editor. 13