UNIPET
embarks on expansion plan
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
21 07 07
TWO days before the country's biggest fuel provider
National Petroleum (NP) came to a stand still as
workers downed their tools in protest action, a
competing transportation fuels provider, the United
Independent Petroleum Marketing Company (UNIPET)
won the right to deliver fuel to energy companies.
UNIPET's
CEO, Ron Milford told Business Express, "It's
always good to have two players in the game so
consumers never suffer. Our October 5 legal win
against the Government levelled the playing fields,
we can now supply oil to the multi-national offshore
energy companies which work out of Trinidad and
UNIPET intends to capitalise on that opportunity
while expanding its service station operations."
He
said, "Fuel providers along with the Ministry
of Energy have realised the need to have stations
along the highway and in rural communities also,
not only in the towns and cities, especially with
the traffic situation and new projects such as
the rapid rail and sea taxi.
"Coming
off the road to go to a gas station seems more
senseless and time consuming every day,
as it takes so long to get around anyway, so having
the gas stations right there is a more practical
approach."
He said UNIPET plans to set up large, modern stations,
upgrading the 12 which already exist and adding
three new ones to the brew by next year.
The 12 UNIPET stations which already exist are
located in Cocorite, Moruga, Laventille, Sangre
Grande, Curepe, Gasparillo, Couva, Barrackpore,
Chaguaramas, Santa Flora and two in Santa Cruz.
"We're
expanding so quickly, when I became CEO in November
last year there were only seven,
now there are 12.
"By next year we will add another near Port
of Spain, one in Tacarigua and another in Sangre
Grande," he said.
Milford said he felt for a long time NP had a
monopoly hold on the industry as a fuel provider.
"But the NP standstill last week was a clear
example of how important competition is in a market.
When one company's work goes down another can make
sure the country's needs are taken care of," he
said.
"With
competition the consumers will definitely benefit.
Have you seen what competition and Digicel
have done for the telecoms market. Rates and cells
phones have gone down by a whole lot."
He
said one of UNIPET's primary concerns, however
always has been and always will be the environment. "We
have a very good relationship with the Environmental
Management Authority and consider the environment
in all our decisions," he said.
He
said the next relationship which UNIPET is looking
to improve is the company's relation with
the multi-national energy exploration and production
companies. "Now with the go-ahead from the
court we can look at expansion into the field of
supplying them with fuel. However, our real business
will always be the gas station and diesel fuel "peddling".
He said energy companies will come and go so they
cannot rely on them for a steady stream of business
but the need to supply diesel for cars and construction
always will be there, so UNIPET sees those industries
as its bread and butter.
"Our
target market is women, that explains why we
create such bright, warm ambience at our
stations. Men already buy gas, women are the ones
who have started driving more recently and getting
their own gas, serving themselves in the station.
"With
the crime situation, no woman wants to pull into
a station that looks lonely and run
down however, so UNIPET is working at avoiding
that dilemma."
He said UNIPET's self service credit card payment
and prepaid gas card services soon will be accessible
at all their stations to avoid the excess flow
of cash in areas which are not secure.
"Self service and card payment also help
us deal with the labour shortage which the country
is now experiencing. As much as we will always
have attendants, technology is changing the way
we play the game," he concluded.
UNIPET's Legal Woes
He said that three years ago, UNIPET filed a legal
claim against the state after they were told by
the Ministry of Energy that their wholesale marketing
license did not allow them the right to supply
fuel to the multi-national energy exploration companies
which operated out of Trinidad.
In
a press conference held at UNIPET's head office
in Aranguez last week, UNIPET'S chairman, Afraz
Ali said, "It was ruled that the Government
pay UNIPET's legal fees in the matter which totalled
$109,000 as under our wholesale marketing license
we are authorised to sell and deliver liquid petroleum
fuels to exploration and production companies."
Ali said the company was happy to put the issue
behind them and would not be seeking compensation
for the millions of dollars they stood to make
had the state not banned their sale of fuel to
multi-national energy companies for the last three
years.
"Instead,
UNIPET will be looking forward and by 2009 at
least 25 UNIPET outlets should be
up and running."
Milford
said, "I hope we will not return
to court anytime in the near future. You can't
run a business properly if you are in court.
"And
as for run ins with Government, we really hope
this was our last time as building a hostile
relationship with the people who run the country
was never on our to-do list ."
Despite their plans for quick expansion, both
Ali and Milford said the company had no plans to
expand to Tobago in the near future.
Milford explained that moving to Tobago and transporting
fuel over the seas was quite difficult and UNIPET's
management did not think they were yet in a place
to move across to Tobago as they needed to focus
on setting up a strong base in Trinidad before
they could move over.
Story
by Aretha Welch from the Trinidad Express
Trinidad
Express
Friday, October 19th 2007
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