CROWES Bulletin March 2006
8/3/06
09:28
Page 17
News markets not to have experienced a decline in petrol station numbers over the last 5 years are Finland and the southern European markets of Spain, Greece and Portugal.” “In Finland new station openings are generally lowinvestment unmanned sites, whilst in Spain, relatively new market entrants such as Italy’s Agip and the French supermarket chain Carrefour are responsible for many of the new builds,” she says. The UK was amongst the most heavily affected by petrol station site closures between 2004 and 2005, along with Belgium, Denmark and Ireland. Denmark experienced the most significant network shrinkage with a 7.5% decrease in total site numbers, whilst the rate of closures in Ireland, the UK and Belgium was only slightly more modest with a 5-6% decrease in the number of petrol outlets. Those Remaining Work Harder To Satisfy Demand With this national network rationalisation occurring against a backdrop of minor increases in demand for fuel, the average volumes of petrol and diesel passing through western European sites over the last 5 years has increased significantly. The remaining fuel retailers have seized the opportunity to increase individual petrol station sales with investment aimed at maximising the efficiency of each site, Davis says. “In 2004, around 2.6 million litres of fuel was pumped through each western European site on average, compared with 2.3 million litres in 2000, representing a 3% year-on-year increase.” The rise in site efficiency in the last 5 years has been most pronounced in Spain and Luxembourg, with average petrol station volume sales increasing by 10.7% and 8.4% year-on-year, respectively. These two markets, alongside the UK, Austria and Germany had the highest average fuel throughputs in western Europe in 2004. Luxembourg, with a vast number of commercial motorists filling their tanks within its borders, has an exceptional average annual site throughput of 11.5 million litres, compared to 3.7 million litres in the UK, Davis says. “On average, each Spanish site retails 4.7 million litres of fuel and in Austria and Germany, 3.5 and 3.2 million litres per annum, respectively.” These examples
help to paint a picture of the potential situation faced by the petrol station networks in those markets with relatively lower fuel throughputs. Sites in markets such as Belgium and Switzerland still only have average throughputs of 1.5 to 2 million litres per annum despite being far more geographically concentrated than their doubly efficient Spanish counterparts. On this basis there is scope for further closures without too much of a furore about petrol station accessibility amongst the motorist population. Motorist Demand Drives Central And Eastern Europe's Growth Unlike the situation in western Europe, most central and eastern European (CEE) petrol station networks are increasing in size. Bulgaria and Slovakia are among the markets to have experienced the greatest growth over the last five years with the number of sites increasing 13% and 7% yearon-year, respectively. A significant increase in the demand for petrol among motorists in the 9 CEE markets assessed by Datamonitor is driving these investments and means that average site efficiency is still on the up, Davis says. “The 2.3 million litres of fuel sold by the average CEE petrol station in 2000 had increased to 2.5 million litres by 2004.” Foreign Entrants Reap Benefits In Bulgaria, it is Austria’s OMV and Shell which have the highest market shares on a per site basis, whilst Shell and BP own the sites with the highest annual fuel throughput in both Poland and the Czech Republic. ConocoPhillips’ Jet branded sites feature among the top three most efficient operators in Hungary and have the greatest annual throughput in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, OMV’s average fuel throughput is in line with that of Rompetrol in Romania whilst in Estonia, Norway’s Statoil and Russia’s Lukoil are the two leading players in terms of average annual petrol station fuel sales, Davis says. “Ultimately, it is no surprise that the companies with the highest performing sites in terms of fuel sales across CEE generally belong to foreign new entrants. Where it is a difficult task
for national players to rationalise sites without compromising market share and national coverage, it is much easier for new players to enter the market, cherry-picking the best petrol station sites or indeed building super-efficient new ones.”
USA, Petroleum Equipment Institute previews online training program at PEI show The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) previewed a new online training program at the 2005 Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The PEI Learning Center is an Internet-based learning program designed to help owners and operators of petroleum storage systems better understand their equipment. Each course features streaming video, interactive quizzes and downloadable support material. The training is geared toward the owners and operators of petrol stations, convenience stores, truck stops, fueling depots - any facility that stores or dispenses automotive fuel. “Until now there has been no standardized training available for the tank owner and operator,” Robert Renkes, executive vice president of PEI announced. “These courses allow owners, managers and employees to learn the mechanics of proper maintenance and operation of their underground petroleum storage systems.” Each course is compiled with input from a panel of industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, installers, distributors, service companies, tank owners and environmental regulators. Courses currently available pertain to automatic tank gauges, single-walled pressure systems, secondary containment and spill/overfill protection. “These are just the first offerings in our course catalog that debuts December 1,” said Robert Renkes, adding, “Future courses are already being planned.” Courses are priced at $79 each and generally can be completed in one hour. Quantity discounts and customized solutions are also available. To learn more, visit www.pei.org/learn or contact the Petroleum Equipment Institute. 17
