One of JET’s specially rebranded tankers in support of Road Safety Week
During last week’s Road Safety Week JET helped to raise road safety awareness by rebranding four of its tankers with special Road Safety Week messages.
The four JET promotional tankers took to the roads in the brand’s core delivery areas – South East, Midlands, Yorkshire/Humberside and Scotland with the tankers visiting approximately 100 JET forecourts.
Pete George, managing director of Phillips 66 UK & Ireland marketing, commented: “We know that our distinctive JET tanker fleet is a significant contributor to brand awareness so we felt that branding some of our tankers with special Safety Week messages was a great way to show our commitment to road safety and our support of Brake’s fantastic initiative.”
Pete added: “As a company we are committed to consistently looking at ways to minimise risks and ensure the safety and well-being of our customers, drivers and staff. Road Safety Week provides a great opportunity to do this in a way that is fun but also gets across a serious message.”
The move was part of Jet’s long-standing support for the national road safety charity, Brake.
Set up in 1997, Road Safety Week is coordinated annually by Brake each November. Now the UK’s biggest road safety event, it aims to encourage grassroots action on road safety and raise awareness about the part everyone can play to prevent tragedies and make roads safer. www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk
Gulf Aviation kept the emergency aircraft airborne during the NATO summit in Cardiff
Gulf Aviation came to Cardiff Heliport’s rescue by providing urgent fuel supplies to keep emergency aircraft airborne at the NATO summit.
In September the NATO global gathering of world leaders brought stringent security measures to Cardiff, including five police helicopters which needed to be refuelled constantly, as well as an air ambulance and a military chopper.
The heliport, which usually goes through an average of 10,000 litres of aviation fuel a month, needed an urgent resupply after more than 30,000 litres were drained from its stockpile in just three days. Gulf Aviation, a division of Certas Energy, came to the heliport’s aid by securing an urgent delivery of fuel from Grangemouth to the Welsh capital.
Paul Stanfield, head of operations at Cardiff Heliport, said: “I have never seen the heliport so busy. We have a capacity to hold 40,000 litres of fuel, but at the rate our fuel supply was being depleted, we wouldn’t have had enough fuel for the police helicopters to deal with anything unplanned. Gulf went above and beyond to supply the emergency transportation of fuel, which thankfully arrived less than 24 hours after I called them.”
David Dykes, the supply, logistics and commercial manager at Gulf Aviation, said: “We were happy to be able to support Cardiff Heliport with the emergency fuel they needed in order to see the NATO summit through. Making sure we give a personal and customer focused service is an integral part of our offering.” aviation.gulfoil.co.uk/See the December issue of Fuel Oil News for an interview with Gulf Aviation.
Jim Ratcliffe
“I want INEOS to be the biggest player in the UK shale gas industry,” said Jim Ratcliffe founder and chairman of INEOS which announced plans to invest $1 billion in UK onshore shale gas exploration and appraisal last week.
If INEOS wins all the Petroleum Exploration and Development licences (PEDLs) – the vast majority are in Scotland and northern England – for which it has bid from DECC, the company would become the biggest player in the UK’s shale gas industry.
INEOS is already the owner of two substantial shale licences in Scotland comprising over 120,000 acres, in addition to investing a further £400 million in an ambitious project to bring US shale gas to Grangemouth.
If the company moved into development and production, substantial further investment would follow.
“I think shale gas could revolutionise UK manufacturing as it has done in the USA,” said Jim Ratcliffe. INEOS believes that an indigenous shale gas industry would transform UK manufacturing and that the gas can be extracted safely and responsibly.
Gary Haywood, CEO INEOS Upstream, says: “Whilst the awarding of the licences is a matter for DECC, we believe our knowledge and experience in running complex petrochemical facilities, coupled with the world class sub surface expertise we have recently added to our team, means that INEOS will be seen as a very safe pair of hands”.
The company also announced plans to give local communities 6% of the revenues from any shale gas it produces (4% going to home & land owners above the well and 2% to the wider local community).
I believe INEOS has the resources to make it happen, the skills to extract the gas safely and the vision to realise that everyone must share in the rewards,” added Jim Ratcliffe. www.ineos.com
Roz Purcell launches the Topaz home heat campaign 2014
In January, Topaz will create 110 new jobs with the opening of two new service stations developed at a cost of €10 million.
An additional 200 people are currently employed on the development of the sites in North Dublin and Co. Laois which will include service stations, restaurants and shops.
“Topaz is in job creation and expansion mode,” said Paul Candon, marketing and corporate services director at Topaz. “We’re constantly looking at sites with good potential – particularly near motorways. Our award winning sites at Dublin Airport and Cashel have been extremely successful and we expect these new sites to be likewise. We’re actively looking for new sites and locations across the country.”
Topaz has 330 sites throughout the country, 120 company owned. One of Ireland’s largest privately owned companies, it has an annual turnover of €3 billion and currently employs 1,600 people.The Topaz Home Heat campaign
The launch of the campaign coincided with a warning from weather experts that Ireland could be set for an Arctic freeze within weeks.
“While we have experienced very mild weather up to this point, forecasters are warning that temperatures are set to fall rapidly in coming weeks,” said commercial director Liam Mulcahy. “Ordering oil on our revamped website can be done in four simple clicks and we guarantee delivery within 48 hours.”
To mark the launch of the new site and online ordering facility, Topaz is giving away 500 litres of fuel every week for the next 26 weeks and double Play or Park loyalty points to customers who order online.
Topaz also urged customers to consider using Topaz Thermal, a home heating fuel specially developed by the company to lower carbon and sludge build up. www.topaz.ie
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Minister for the Environment, Mark H Durkan, will be the keynote speaker at the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) Transport Manager Northern Ireland conference, to be held at Titanic, Belfast on 3 March 2015.
The conference, sponsored by Volvo Trucks and Brigade Electronics, aims to give transport managers the information and assistance they need to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing transport scene in Northern Ireland, covering key issues facing transport managers in the year ahead and providing advice relevant to everyday operations.
The event will also include sessions by head of the Transport Regulation Unit (TRU) Donna Knowles, chief executive of Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) Keith Morrison, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
FTA policy experts will also be on hand to give updates and provide transport managers with guidance and best practice advice surrounding future legislation and enforcement changes.
Prices for attending this event have been held at 2014 rates. The cost for FTA members is £265 (+ VAT) for the first delegate and £225 (+ VAT) for subsequent delegates. The cost for non-members is £330 (+ VAT) for the first delegate and £290 (+ VAT) for subsequent delegates.
An online booking form is available at: http://www.fta.co.uk/events/transport_manager_northern_ireland_2015.html
Tony Brown, technical manager, Dawn Shakespeare, marketing and events manager, with Mark Askew
The Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) has moved its office to Vienna House at Birmingham International Park in the West Midlands.
“By moving, we’re now in a more central location geographically which means our members can access us more easily, and we’ve also reduced administration costs,” explained chief executive Mark Askew.
“The new office is located near the NEC and Birmingham International airport and rail station which makes it ideal for members working across the country. We have more members than ever so it makes sense to be centrally located.
“We’ve also recently enjoyed great success in Ireland where our member numbers are growing strongly together with our involvement at local and government level in the country on all oil-related matters,” added Mark.
The FPS has 107 distributor members in the UK and 31 distributor members in the Republic of Ireland, with a total of 180 members. Between them, FPS members make around 5 million fuel deliveries a year.
FPS’s new address is Vienna House, International Square, Starley Way, Birmingham International Business Park, Solihull B37 7GN.www.fpsonline.co.uk
Killian Tallon, APEA chairman; Nobby Clarke, chairman of E&S Environmental and director of Adler & Allan; and Warren Peters, managing director of KPS UK at the APEA presentation event
Adler and Allan’s ethanol coalescing filter won the Environment Protection and Improvement category at this year’s Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration (APEA) awards, announced earlier this month.
John Alton (right) receives his gold watch for 25 years’ service to Morris Lubricants from director David Goddard
One of the most highly respected figures in the UK lubricants industry has celebrated more than half a century of service by being presented with his second gold watch.
John Alton, commercial director of Shrewsbury-based Morris Lubricants, is credited with successfully driving the company forward during his time as chief executive. He joined the family-owned oil blenders in 1989 from Silkolene Oils in Belper, Derbyshire, where he was sales and marketing director and collected his first gold watch for 25 years’ service.
He handed over the reins at Morris Lubricants to managing director Andrew Goddard in 2008 but continues to be responsible for developing home and export markets.
Company director David Goddard, who made the presentation to Mr Alton, said: “John has driven the company forward over the past 25 years. He is without doubt one of the most prominent and highly respected figures in the UK lubricants industry with worldwide experience.”
In 2012, in recognition of his service as the longest serving board member, Mr Alton was elected president of the United Kingdom Lubricants Association (UKLA), which represents more than 100 manufacturers in the lubricants and metalworking fluids industry. He had previously served as vice president for eight years and received the President’s Award from the UKLA in 2008 for his contribution to the lubricants industry.
Reflecting on his 52 years in the lubricants industry, 77-year-old Mr Alton said: “I am constantly surprised by the way the passage of time seems to accelerate as you get older. I still feel that the company has some exciting opportunities ahead and wish I could turn back the clock and do another 25 years in the industry!”
It was with ‘great frustration and regret’ that Bryan Kelly, vice president of UK operations for Murphy Petroleum, made the announcement that the Klesch Group deal announced in the summer had collapsed last week.
“For the past four years we have worked tirelessly to secure a positive outcome for the future of the refinery and our workforce. Unfortunately, and despite every effort on the part of Murphy and our employees, we have been denied the desired outcome.”
The refinery, which is already in shut-down, will now be decommissioned as Murco looks for a new buyer for its three terminals at Westerleigh, Theale and Bedworth and refinery which will become a storage and distribution base.
Bryan Kelly thanked Murco staff for ‘their continued professionalism and commitment during the sales process’, and also placed ‘on record his appreciation ‘for the efforts of the UK government and the Welsh government and its Task Force.’
With all but 60 of the plant’s 400 jobs likely to go, Plaid Cymru has called for funding from the European Union’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund to help the workers. MEP Jill Evans has also written to Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb to ask him to apply for funds.
Changes to the global refining industry are impacting on the local economy with Murco’s contribution alone estimated to be worth about £30m a year. Whilst recent developments have led to a new gas-fired power station and two LNG terminal and a new combined heat and a power plant at South Hook has also received planning permission, this week a task force led by economy minister Edwina Hart will seek to attract new jobs to the area.
MFG completed its purchase of Murco’s retail business on 1st October. Managing director Jeremy Clarke said the collapse of the Klesch deal would have no implications for his company.
www.murco.co.uk
Information, issues and future development are all on the agenda at next month’s FTA Fuel Tanker Conference.
To ensure that fleet managers and vehicle engineers are fully up-to-date, this bi-annual event which takes place on Tuesday 2nd December at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham will include the following topics delivered by high profile representatives from the Department for Transport, DVSA and the Health and Safety Executive.
Dangers and safe operation
Regulation and issues with tanker approvals
Inspection and certification
ADR testing and enforcement
Latest developments with fuel tanker components
Safe Loading Pass Scheme – 2014 relaunch
Energy Institute initiatives
Challenges for operators
Andy Mair, FTA’s head of engineering, who is chairing the event said: “This FTA conference, sponsored by MAN Truck & Bus and PTV Group, provides an ideal opportunity for fleet managers, vehicle engineers and individuals with responsibility for specifying road fuel tanker design, and maintaining compliance with ADR and fuel tanker certification requirements with an exclusive opportunity to hear from the authorities and industry experts in this highly regulated industry sector. Delegates will benefit from the confidence in being up-to-date with the very latest information, guidance and best practice advice surrounding developments in tank certification and operation.”
The cost for FTA members is £325 + VAT for the first delegate and £275 + VAT for subsequent delegates; for non-members the cost is £385 + VAT for the first delegate and £345 + VAT for subsequent delegates.
http://www.fta.co.uk/events/fuel_tanker_conference_2014.html
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