Letters to the Editor

UK, Co-op set to open new service station & C-store

July 2009 - The Co-operative Group has announced plans for a £1 million showpiece store and service station in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells which will bring a new era in convenience food shopping to the area.

The consumer-owned retailer acquired the North Road Garage last year and work has begun to build a new service station and convenience store, which the group hopes will open in early autumn. The 2,500 sq ft food store will feature The Co-operative Group’s new brand identity.

The Co-operative aims to highlight improved service standards across its 4,900 outlets in the UK, including its travel, pharmacy, funerals and bank branches, as well as its commitment to supporting local communities and ethical trading policies. The new store and petrol station will provide a spacious shopping environment and a comprehensive range to meet all the food shopping needs of the community. It will also feature three petrol pump islands and a jet wash plus more than 20 car parking spaces.

Regional manager Mark Roberts said: “The acquisition represents a significant investment in the area for The Co-operative and endorses our commitment to serving customers with the best in modern retailing. “The new store and petrol station will provide a one-stop shop for the local community.

UK, Anti-forecourt crime scheme launched in South West Glasgow

UK, Greggs moves onto petrol forecourts in UK

Bakery chain Greggs revealed its first move onto the petrol forecourt as it continues to target locations away from the high street

The deal with Euro Garages, which has 76 forecourts across the UK, has seen the first Greggs store open at the firm´s newly developed site in Bury, Lancashire, with others set to follow.

The opening follows Greggs´ recent expansion into industrial estates and retail parks in a drive to take the brand to where customers are.

Euro Garages, which was formed eight years ago by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa with a single petrol station, is the UK´s fastest growing forecourt operator and the second largest independent in the sector. It sells about 300 million litres of fuel each year and has a turnover of £260 million.

Euro Garages has grown by acquiring and redeveloping rundown petrol stations, partnering with brands such as Spar to offer convenience retail stores and Subway to provide franchised fast food outlets on the same sites.

Mike Kavanagh, retail development manager at Greggs, said there was room for significant growth in the petrol forecourt retail sector. He added: "If this move is as successful as we anticipate, we plan to extend the model to other regions."

People who drive off from petrol stations without paying are being targeted by the Forecourt Watch scheme, which has now been launched in Glasgow.

Strathclyde Police has joined forces with The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) and independent retailers to introduce Forecourt Watch in the Glasgow South West area. The scheme is designed to create a closer link between police, BOSS and retail staff to increase awareness, prevention and the reporting and recording of incidents.

The Strathclyde Forecourt Watch scheme, being rolled out to 14 key stations in the district, is the latest addition to the 70 schemes already operating throughout the UK.

Marking the launch of the scheme, Superintendent Kevin Duffy said: “During the first five months of 2009 there were 100 reported thefts of petrol from the 14 filling stations across the Glasgow South West area. This number of crimes impacts greatly on police resources and also impacts heavily on the finances of the garages affected. Forecourt Watch will bring together the filling stations, helping them alongside the police and BOSS to try and reduce this type of crime.”

Research also shows that offences of driving off without paying for fuel are often linked to offenders or vehicles involved in other types of crime and to disqualified drivers, those without insurance, tax or MOT, or vehicles with false number plates.

BOSS Forecourt Watch documentation for the recording and notifying of ‘drive-offs’ and ‘no means of payment’ incidents will be provided to staff at all forecourts taking part in the scheme. This enables petrol service stations to work in conjunction with police and BOSS to help bring offenders to justice.

High visibility stickers and posters on the forecourt itself are designed to raise awareness among customers and potential thieves that Forecourt Watch is in operation and making off without payment is a criminal offence.

Information sharing with the police

Service stations registered with the scheme also benefit from sharing information with police and each other on suspects, vehicles and known offenders – to maximise disruption and detection of offences.

Jim Anderson, the BOSS regional co-ordinator, commented: “This is another important building block in what we hope will be a network of Forecourt Watches covering the Glasgow Area. BOSS appreciates the cooperation of Strathclyde Police in another partnership initiative to drive down forecourt crime.”

UK, Leicester. Two hurt after car crash at petrol station

Firefighters clear up at the Shell petrol station in Coventry Road after the car smashed into the wall of the shop. An elderly woman had to be airlifted to hospital and a man was injured after their car crashed into a

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petrol station.

The accident happened when the male driver of a maroon Jaguar pulled off after filling up at the Shell station, in Coventry Road, near Broughton Astley, and drove straight into a wall. Firefighters from Hinckley and Leicester's Southern fire station were called to the scene and immediately cut the supply of fuel to the forecourt amid fears of an explosion. The driver had freed himself from the car and was described as "walking wounded", but the female passenger had to be cut free from the wreckage. She was airlifted to Leicester Royal Infirmary with suspected back injuries. Watch Manager Dave Sowerby from Southern station, in Leicester, said: "Obviously our first concern was to isolate the fuel supply to the forecourt."

UK, London. DTZ to manage 5,000 Shell locations UK, Stanlow. Future of oil refinery in doubt as Shell considers sale of Stanlow

London-DTZ, real estate adviser based out of London, has been tapped to manage roughly 5,000 retail locations in 11 countries for Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd. "This is a fantastic result and further evidence of DTZ‘s commitment to serving world-class clients such as Shell," says Paul Idzik, DTZ group CEO. "It demonstrates our ability to deliver unrivaled solutions combining deep local knowledge with global expertise.

We look forward to helping Shell meet their business objectives in this area." David Jones, a member of DTZ‘s occupier services team, will head up the account helping shell with property and transaction management throughout North America and Asia Pacific. DTZ‘s occupier services team has worked with more than 50% of the major companies throughout Europe such as Barclays, RBS, Vadofone, Yahoo! and DuPont. We are impressed with DTZ‘s approach to partnering with us to help achieve our targets and we look forward to developing a strong relationship with DTZ across these two important regions," says Carolyn Gomez, retail real estate manager for Shell.

A DTZ source tells GlobeSt.com the retail locations it will manage are located in Canada, the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. The deal is not typical, as fuel stations don‘t tend to outsource management instead opting to manage the locations with in-house teams based in the particular country. "Shell‘s action comes in response to further globalization of their operations, a drive for consistency, the need for best practice and to maximize value opportunities across the substantial portfolio, particularly high alternative value sites and strategic locations," according to the source.

The oil company confirms that a review of the plant's ownership is under way but denied that there were any plans to close it Britain's second biggest oil refinery –employing 800 full-time staff at the Stanlow site near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire – could be sold off by the Shell oil group.

The company confirmed last night that a review of the plant's ownership was under way, but denied that there were any plans to close the 173-acre facility, which has processed oil for 60 years and accounts for roughly 20% of Britain's petrol production. Competitors –including the Libyan National Oil Company, in partnership with the Indian mobile phone firm Essar – are among the potential buyers of the plant, which may be auctioned with two Shell refineries in Germany.

Shell is cutting back on refining because of the recession and excess capacity in the market. The company warned earlier this year of potential job cuts in its global workforce, following a fall in second quarter profits to £1.4bn, compared with £22bn for the whole of last year. In its statement, the firm said that the Stanlow review would "determine the best long-term options for the refinery and associated local marketing businesses." Employees

have been told about the exercise, including contract workers who were involved in a series of walkouts earlier this year, in sympathy with colleagues on strike at the Total refinery on the river Humber. "Shell has an obligation to ensure best value is being achieved with all its assets, and this involves talking with third parties from time to time," said the firm from its UK headquarters in London. "All longterm ownership options are being considered for Stanlow, which could include the sale of the refinery. "If a deal is pursued, the refinery would be sold as a going concern. If no deal is pursued, Stanlow will be retained in the Shell portfolio. There are no plans to close the refinery or associated local marketing businesses." The other businesses are Shell's commercial and bulk fuel operations at Stanlow, and marine operations which assist tankers arriving at Ellesmere Port. The AngloDutch group has cut back severely on costs as fuel demand continues to fall. Internal savings in the first half of 2009 totalled £426.8m according to the six-monthly statement in July from the recently appointed chief executive, Peter Voser. Shell was among companies irritated by wildcat strike action in February and June in support of construction workers involved in the long dispute over foreign labour at Total's Immingham plant. Both walkouts involved some 450 maintenance contractors at Stanlow, but production at the refinery was not affected.

UK, London. World War 2 petrol ration September 1939. (A history article)

Article first published in the Daily Telegraph, Sept 8, 1939. World War 2. Petrol ration books are available today on application at post offices or local taxation offices, but they cannot be used before Sept. 16 when the rationing system comes into force. After that date no petrol for any purpose will be obtainable except against ration coupons. Applicants who must produce the

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car registration book, will receive from the issuing clerk, two ration books one marked ‘first month’ and one marked ‘second month’ containing coupons for the quantity allowed them according to the rating of the car as shown in the registration book.

Each coupon represents one unit, which for the present represents one gallon, but the unit may be changed later. Car owners should not that ration books are only valid during the period for which they are issued – the first between Sept. 16 and Oct. 15 and the second between Oct. 16 and Nov. 15. In other words, you cannot hoard your coupons.

Extra Rations

Persons requiring more than the minimum ration represented by the books should apply to the Divisional Petroleum Officer for the area which the petrol is required. The names and addresses of these will be issued in a day or two.

A form of application for those who want motor spirit for stationary engines and purposes other than for use in road or agricultural vehicles is also to be had at post offices.

Commercial vehicle operators will also be unable to obtain motor spirit after Sept. 16 except on rations. They will get supplies through their group organisers.

UK, Additional control measures for work on live spirit tanks, vents and vapour recovery systems

Procedures for working on the petrol storage and distribution systems need to be modified on all live spirit tanks with immediate effect. These must cater for the fact that tanks and associated lines will most likely vent vapour when opened and may also be pressurised. Failure to address this through safe working procedures could result in large volumes of flammable vapour escaping to atmosphere. •Identify the risk of vapour release when breaking into any point of a spirit tank system.

•Identifying if the site has Stage II vapour recovery fitted. This can be done by checking the type of nozzle on the spirit pumps.

•If there is stage 2 vapour recovery, no work that would allow vapours from the spirit tanks to escape can take place until all unleaded grades are put out of use. This includes breaking pipe work, removing probes or plugs from tank lids or replacing vapour recovery valves etc.

•Advising the site manager that all the unleaded grades will need to be isolated before commencing work.

•Locking off all Unleaded and

Ultimate Unleaded nozzles and placing Out of Use labels on each nozzle. (On some pumps a trained engineer may be able to turn off the stage 2 system. If this is done the engineer must check all pumps on site to ensure the stage 2 cannot operate when any spirit nozzle is used).

•Making safe the work area and allowing for a release of vapour. This will also change the hazardous zones on the site forecourt. There must be no possibility of ignition sources in this area. The work area protection must take this into account when planning the works. This risk must be identified with the resulting preventative measures and be recorded on your clearance certificate. This will include ensuring no access to the area by non-approved personnel and the exclusion of ALL ignition sources including non-approved tools and equipment. Please note that this will be different for each site and it will not be sufficient just to refer to a generic method statement. controlled manner and being prepared for unexpected releases of vapour. This release will need to be at high level using a suitable outlet fitted with a flame arrester.

•Record the release in the relevant Site Petroleum Register

Section 6 (d).

•Ensuring the work including the risks, have been discussed with the responsible person in control of the site.

•Ensuring that the correct PPE is worn, including eye and face protection as appropriate to the risk.

•Ensuring that the hazardous areas involved are monitored at all times with a suitable gas diction instrument.

•After completion of the work, reinstating the unleaded grades and checking for vapour leaks on the system.

•Completion of documentation and clearance certificate.

Tool Box talks should include this new requirement.

UK, Uttoxeter. Teen burned by petrol bonfire

A teenager has suffered serious burns in Uttoxeter after using petrol to light a bonfire. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to Westlands Road after a man in his teens used petrol to light a bonfire. A rapid response vehicle, an ambulance crew and the Midlands Air Ambulance attended the incident. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Crews were told a man in his late teens had been trying to light a bonfire. “Petrol was used and that resulted in a flashback, with the man suffering serious burns to his arms, face and chest. “Dressings were applied to his burns and he was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital in

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and treatment. “Once more, the dangers of using accelerants such as patrol on bonfires have been shown in this unfortunate incident. “As autumn approaches and people start preparing bonfires, it is an example of what not to do.

UK, Firms due in court over oil depot blast

UK, New ASDA petrol station will be open in three weeks, creates fears UK, BP to subcontract fuel distribution in United Kingdom

ASDA supermarket in Bury St Edmunds will open its petrol station in August. The firm pledges to sell low-priced fuel on its forecourts and the manager of a nearby convenience store and garage says he fears he will lose business when ASDA opens its pumps

The supermarket, in Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, opened its forecourt on August 24 – and the company said low prices at its other 176 filling stations across the country had traditionally triggered price reductions at nearby garages. The firm is currently selling petrol and diesel at 99.9p per litre at all its UK forecourts, while petrol stations in Bury were this week charging between 99.9p and 109.9p.

Raja Yogan, manager of the Costcutters store and Murco garage in Newmarket Road, said he hoped bosses at Murco´s head office would lower prices at his site to compete with ASDA.

Mr Yogan, who runs the franchise, gets a commission from fuel sales but makes his profits from his shop –and he fears people will stop using the store if prices at the pumps are not competitive. "It is a worry," he said. "The petrol is the main reason customers come in, so if petrol prices are very cheap at ASDA people might go there instead. Then we lose customers. Unfortunately I can´t do anything about it, because head office decides the prices, but I can let them know what´s happening and maybe they will reduce their prices as well."

ASDA opened its store in March following a long campaign to bring the firm to he town. The shop’s manager, Barry Gramlick, said: "I´m looking forward to finally opening our petrol station as customers have been asking me for months ´when is it opening?´. We want to offer value to all drivers in Bury and we can guarantee customers that they´ll get a fair price for their fuel at ASDA."

Fuel distribution firms look set to benefit from oil giant BP's decision to put all of its UK transportation out to the market for tender.

Currently, three quarters of BP´s distribution is run in-house, using 450 tanker drivers and a 220-strong fleet. The remaining 25% is operated by DHL Supply Chain. "As part of a review of our logistics operations, we are inviting thirdparty logistics providers to tender for the delivery of fuel from terminals to petrol stations and wholesale and cost effective transport operation in place that allows us to compete in the highly competitive UK market," says a BP spokesman.

The move is seen as a way for BP to test the water to see whether 3PLs can offer a more cost-effective deal without jeopardising efficiency. "We are going to try something different, but if tenders do not seem viable then we won´t press ahead," the spokesman adds.

A shift to using third-party operators would bring BP in line with rival Shell which uses Suckling Transport and Hoyer UK for its distribution.

However, trade union Unite is unhappy about BP´s plans. "There is increasing concern that this is a deliberate strategy to end the direct employment of tanker drivers across the sector with the aim of ending national bargaining on pay, terms and conditions," says a Unite spokeswoman.

Unite is also concerned that Esso and Sainsbury´s may follow suit. The union was set to hold a national conference of oil industry tanker drivers and warns industrial action is a possibility as a result of the move.

Five companies are due to appear in court charged in connection with an explosion at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead. Total UK, Hertfordshire Oil Storage, British Pipeline Agency, TAV Engineering and Motherwell Control Systems 2003 will stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court in London. The Buncefield disaster, which took place on December 11, 2005, is thought to be the largest explosion in peacetime Europe. It measured 2.4 on the Richter scale and could be heard 125 miles away. Total UK is charged with one count of causing the pollution of controlled waters and two counts of failure to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Hertfordshire Oil Storage is charged with causing the pollution of controlled waters and contravening health and safety regulation. TAV Engineering is charged with failure to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act. British Pipeline Agency is charged with causing pollution of controlled waters and contravening a health and safety regulation. Motherwell Control Systems is charged with failure to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

UK, Nottingham. Diesel tanker spill causes traffic problems

A diesel tanker has spilt some of its fuel causing traffic problems in Derby Road. The incident happened at around 10.30am, in September 2009 at the bottom of Derby Road, where it meets the roundabout with Maid Marian Way. The fuel came from the tractor of the diesel tanker, rather than the tank itself, and covered two lanes of traffic. Stephen Wright, from Radford, was walking past and took a photo of the accident with his camera. "I was walking up Maid Marian Way at about 11.10 and

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