Petrocam Trading Nigeria Limited, an operator in the nation’s downstream oil sector, has said it aims to increase the number of its fuel stations across the country to 50 in the next five years.
The Managing Director, Petrocam Trading Nigeria Limited, Mr Patrick Ilo, disclosed this at the inauguration of the company’s 11th solar-powered station at Igando, Lagos.
He described the new station as a one-stop shop for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas), lubricants and other services, with a capacity for about 270,000 litres.
Ilo, who expressed optimism about the downstream sector of the nation’s oil sector, said, “We are doing well and moving fast. We started this expenditure in 2014, and we have been growing exponentially. We are going to unveil another station next year, and another one in December. In the next five years, we are targeting about 50 stations.
“I think the downstream oil and gas sector is promising; there is sanity. If you look at the standards on a daily basis, people are raising the standards and with the trend of population growth, I think there is a lot of prospect for the sector.”
He noted that although margins were reducing, operators should avoid short-changing customers.
Ilo said, “Operators should know that margins generally will grow thin, and the most significant thing is that fuel business is a volume business; so we must make sure that we are able to expand our market to bring more people into the market. People should make sure a litre remains a litre despite the thinning margin.
“If you cheat the unsuspecting consumers, it would have a reverberating effect on your business. If you cheat people, you will not last.”
Source: The Punch