UK, Northern Ireland, Belfast. Illegal filling stations closed Over 8,000 litres of laundered fuel being sold at knock-down prices were seized at two illegal filling stations in west Belfast. HMRC officers also removed forecourt pumps and equipment at the socalled huckster sites. John McManus, HMRC Operational, Specialist Investigation, said: "Just looking at the premises selling the fuel we have seized, and the price, no-one could be in any doubt but that this was dodgy fuel.Yet some people are willing, to not only tolerate, but also support this openly criminal activity within their community." He added: "We take the unfair and illegal practice of selling illicit fuel very seriously. Genuine businesses should not be undercut by criminals operating from illegal fuel sites. Fuel fraud is not a victimless crime. We will continue to use the full array of sanctions at our disposal against those engaged in the illicit supply, sale or misuse of fuel."
UK, Scotland, Glasgow. Tanker fall death ‘preventable’ The death of a Clackmannanshire tanker driver could have been prevented if a second guardrail had been fitted to his vehicle, a sheriff has ruled. James Hutchinson, 57, from Dollar, died after falling from his tanker at a farm in Leuchars, Fife, in February 2007. He suffered brain injuries, a broken neck and fractured jaw. He also
broke both wrists trying to break his fall. A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) found that even if he had been wearing his hard hat he would not have survived. The inquiry at Cupar Sheriff Court heard that Mr Hutchinson has been making a delivery at Vicarsford Farm, Leuchars, on the evening of 8 February 2007. His body was found by workers at the piggery the next day. The FAI heard that Mr Hutchinson was an ideal employee with Carntyne Transport Co Ltd, he could be sent to any job with confidence and he was careful and meticulous. The court was told that his lorry had a guardrail which could be raised at one side of the tanker, but there was no rail on the other side. Sheriff Peter Hammond ruled that providing a double guardrail would have been "the single reasonable precaution whereby his death might have been avoided". Carntyne Transport was previously fined £5,000 over the death for breaching health and safety rules. Since the accident, the Glasgow-based firm has fitted double guardrails to all its tankers and introduced new rules for people who are working alone.
Greece, Motor Oil (Hellas) to acquire Greek Shell Shell has agreed to sell the majority of its Greek operations to Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries in a deal worth €219.1m (£198.8m). The Greek refining company will acquire the distribution and sales of fuels through Shell’s 700 petrol stations. It is agreed that the stations will remain under the Shell brand name for at least five years. The acquisition also means Motor Oil will take over owned storage depots of 137,000cm total capacity in Kalohori, Amfilohia, Perama, Chania, Alexandroupoli and Rhodes. In addition, it will acquire Shell’s lubricants blending operations plant in Perama, its chemicals storage and distribution business, and 49 per cent of its aviation fuel trading company. In a separate deal, Motor Oil will purchase Shell’s liquefied petroleum
gas business in Greece for €26.5m (£24m).
Europe, The writing is on the wall for Shell’s downstream business The days when it was beneficial for an oil company to be vertically integrated with business all the way from the well head to the petrol pump are long since gone. Shell’s decision to move out of refining in the United Kingdom is logical and almost certainly the precursor of a complete withdrawal from the “downstream”. In the past the “Seven Sisters” secured an almost monopolistic control of the production, transportation, refining, distribution and marketing of oil. This gave them incremental margins all the way along the supply chain and meant that they developed competencies at every step along the way. Although the production of crude oil involved wholly different skills and disciplines to, say, the marketing of automotive fuels and lubricants through petrol stations Shell and the rest were quite comfortable with the creation and management of organisations that had all of these competencies. Indeed when I joined Shell in the mid 1960s those of us in marketing did not see ourselves in any way as the poor relations in the Shell Group. But over the years this began to change. Refining and especially the distribution and marketing of petroleum products are labour intensive activities. However the upstream is far more capital and technology intensive – given the scale of the business manpower levels are comparatively low in exploration and production. So when costs are in the spotlight it is the labour intensive downstream which is likely to suffer. The irony of this is that by reducing manpower and by centralising in marketing you inevitably move further away from the market and become less sensitive to local circumstances. All markets are local and to ignore this truism by taking decisions further and further away from the local market you open the door to others who do not do this.
APEA tel/fax 0845 603 5507 www.apea.org.uk
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noticed the tanker. Police were everywhere. There were three of four police cars. They has cordoned off the road already. There were three or four police cars," he said. "The diesel was still running down the road and you could smell the fuel. If that had gone up it would have been quite scary." Derby Road is currently closed between the roundabout and the junction with Vernon Street. Fire fighters hosed the area down while they waited for absorbent granules to be put on the road.
