As COVID-19 has stopped the APEA from being able to host its annual ‘APEA Live’ national exhibitions and conference, as well as their regular regional brand meetings, a new and exciting event will be held via a free zoom webinar.
The free webinar is taking place on Thursday 3rd December and is open to members and non-members alike.
Taking place between 14:00 – 16:00 GMT, the webinar topics include:
Regulator Update – Clare Scawthorne, London Fire Brigade
This will include the outcome of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014 review, what this means for enforcing authorities and new guidance in place.
Standards Update – Jamie Thompson, Chairman of the APEA Technical Committee
A short presentation and it will cover standards update, with info on Brexit and what it means regarding regs and CE markings.
HVO Fuel – Simon Lawford, Crown Oils
This session will ask the questions – ‘What exactly is HVO?’, ‘Why should it play an important part of the future fuel mix?’ and ‘Can it actually be greener than battery-electric power when it comes to total CO2 emissions?’
This session will explain all about this new green direct diesel substitute and why the government is being lobbied to introduce incentives for its use.
HVO – Challenges in the Swedish market – regulations, policies and technical issues – Magdalena Streijffert, & Quentin Gauthie, Neste Sweden
This talk will cover some of the challenges with regulatory matters and policy, along with technical issues regarding tanks, preparations of etc.
Petrol dispensing vs Diesel dispensing – Andrew Olive, Pumptronics
This session will cover iDiesel & petrol hazardous zones, hybrid commercial vehicles, stage 2 vapour recovery principle and requirements, typical application on a commercial refuelling installation. This will then lead onto the Vectec presentation by Bert Fowler discussing a recent commercial installation for a major home delivery network
EV Battery Fires – Lessons learned from around the globe – Dylan Evans, London Fire Brigade
This session will cover electric vehicles, fire safety considerations for lithium ion battery vehicles & infrastructure.
Find out more about this event here.
Renee Semiz will assume the position of managing director, UK marketing, Phillips 66 Limited in January 2021. Renee relocates to the UK from Phillips 66’s Houston office in the USA and takes over from Mary Wolf who, following a smooth transition period, will relocate to the Houston office and assume the role of general manager, global specialties.
Having joined the business in 1998, Renee has an extensive and diverse background across refining, process engineering, commercial commodities, optimisation and marketing. She has held various roles in Phillips 66, most recently as manager, brand U.S. marketing. In this role she was responsible for leading the rebranding of service stations, advertising and programs for Phillips 66’s large network in the United States. Renee has also spent time working internationally in China, India, Turkey, Lithuania and Germany in her early career.
Mary Wolf, currently managing director UK marketing at Phillips 66 Limited, comments:
“I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Renee to the UK marketing family. She brings a great deal of experience and enthusiasm to the team, and I’m sure she will lead the business to new heights. We have a great UK team and incredible, wonderful customers that it has been my privilege to serve. I would like to sincerely and deeply thank everyone for their business and friendship over the last five years. I will dearly miss you all.”
Renee Semiz, currently manager, brand U.S. marketing:
“I am looking forward to joining the UK business and building on the strong working relationships that Mary established with our customers. Mary and her team have done a fantastic job transforming the UK business and I’m looking forward to continuing our strategic initiatives. I wish Mary continued successes as she transitions into her new role in Houston.”
At time of writing we are in ‘Road Safety Week 2020’, the UK’s biggest road safety event, which is coordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity. Designed to stimulate community involvement, the event has great scope to reach many people across the nation and remind them of road safety, thus potentially preventing many accidents. Fuel distribution is an industry well renowned for its unwavering focus on and commitment to safety but, with one of the impacts of lockdown being the reduction of motorised vehicles on the nation’s roads and the subsequent increase in the number of bikes, we hear from Brake as they revisit the challenges this presents to truck drivers.
Every professional truck driver knows that encountering cyclists on busy roads can be a major source of stress, demanding extreme levels of concentration and patience, especially in the face of sometimes careless or dangerous behaviour from riders. Thankfully, due to the focus and skill of drivers, the vast majority of truck/bike encounters pass without incident. But there are now urgent reasons why drivers need to redouble their efforts.
North Yorkshire-based Kettlewell Fuels has added two new tankers and a ‘Tank in a Van’ to its fleet, creating greater capacity and even more flexibility when it comes to delivering across the region – even the remotest parts.
Based in Ripon, Kettlewell Fuels has taken delivery of two DAF four-wheel tankers that have been specified to meet the company’s requirements. Both tankers have a larger capacity and are able to take 9,300 litres compared with the company’s other four-wheelers.
The new tankers also have a much more efficient pumping system, making the whole delivery process even smoother.
Always looking to develop the business, Janet Kettlewell explains:
“The two new DAF tankers will deliver market-leading efficiency for us as a business, giving us even more flexibility within our already versatile fleet.
“We also like to ensure our drivers are looked after in terms of comfort. I’m pleased to say we’ve had some great feedback from them – apparently the new tankers are comfortable and nice to drive too.
Commenting on the other addition to the fleet, Janet says:
“It’s important to us that we offer an agile customer service and to help us do this we’ve adapted a vehicle to hold a 400-litre oil dispensing tank. Known as our ‘Tank in a Van’, this vehicle will enable us to make small emergency deliveries and quickly respond to customers in need.
“We’re now in a very good position going into winter, as our expanded fleet will provide us with greater delivery capacity. We’ve noticed recently that more customers are choosing to support local businesses; it’s been a busy time. Our larger fleet will definitely help when the inevitable cold snap arrives.”
Kettlewell Fuels is North Yorkshire’s trusted independent fuel oil supplier to the domestic, agricultural and commercial sectors and is a member of the UK & Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA).
Holly Needham, granddaughter of Jim Callow, founder of Stourport-based Callow Oils, has decided to celebrate her 21st birthday by giving back to Parkinson’s UK, a charity which is very close to the heart of the family.
Mitchell & Webber has renewed its fleet tyre partnership with Prometeon Tyre Group UK for another 12 months. Operating for 120 years across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, Mitchell & Webber is one of the South West’s longest established distributors of home heating oil, commercial, agricultural and marine fuels, as well as lubricants and industrial services.
The extension of the initial contract, signed between Mitchell & Webber and Prometeon in March 2018, covers the supply of tyres for all vehicles in the Mitchell & Webber fleet, including more than 50 trucks and trailers. Pirelli Triathlon tyres are specified on the bulk of the fleet delivering high mileage and low fuel consumption. Prometeon’s G:01 range, for mixed-use vehicles operating on roads, construction sites, and under aggressive tread-wear conditions, are specified where required.
Darren Heywood, fleet business development manager for Prometeon, said:
“Initially, when we began working with Mitchell & Webber, our Pirelli Triathlon range was put under test as a direct comparison against their incumbent tyre policy. We monitored tyre performance and also carried out a detailed weighing exercise to enable us to provide accurate tyre pressure recommendations based on specific vehicle loads to ensure the full benefits of running a premium tyre policy were being secured.
“After 2.5 years of working together, we were delighted that Mitchell & Webber confirmed that they were extremely satisfied with the total cost of ownership achieved, and that we had delivered substantial savings on their operational costs with no detrimental impact on performance. This led to the signing of the contract extension, and an updated agreement to include our Pro Management system, which provides a holistic solution for fleet tyre management.”
Prometeon’s Pro Management portal offers the customer flexible invoicing, centralised or by worksheet, instant live access to information on the customer’s fleet, and live spend information by status or period, with fixed pricing on tyres and tyre-related services working to a mutually agreed service level agreement.
Leon Gilbert, Mitchell & Webber fleet compliance manager, said:
“As our business has continued to grow, we recognised that we didn’t have a good picture of our tyre-related costs or a sufficiently robust system for managing our tyres across our depots and our vehicle fleet.
“Following the trial and specification of Triathlon and G:01 tyres from Prometeon, we’ve been extremely pleased with the cost savings achieved and the improvements in tyre management that have been put in place. Tyre renewals are now managed in a proactive way, which increases vehicle uptime and reduces costs. For unplanned repairs, we now need to contact just one phone number and Prometeon arranges the required repair action.
“The inclusion of the Pro Management system in the latest agreement signed with Prometeon will provide even greater visibility on our tyre-related costs, and our approach to better managing our tyres across our fleet, with one holistic system.”
In a historically male-dominated industry, we are delighted to be featuring some very successful women in the December issue of Fuel Oil News. We are equally pleased to report that gender diversity in this sector is on the rise.
A recent review of FTSE 100 companies by Debut has found that oil and gas producers are ranked 2nd in the top five most diverse FTSE 100 sectors in the UK, just pipped to the post by the construction and materials sector.
The review also found improvements in terms of gender diversity generally on the boards of the FTSE 100 companies, with women taking 36% of current board roles. Although this hits the diversity target recommended by the Government five years ago, it is still a way away from a 50/50 split, which is achieved by just nine of the 100 companies.
Royal Dutch Shell is one of these nine companies and the oil and gas sector, as a whole, is close to the target, with 54% male board members and 46% female board members.
New initiatives
It was recently announced that OGUK has launched a first-of-its-kind survey that will deliver a baseline for diversity and inclusion (D&I) demographic and sentiment within the sector. Whilst this doesn’t only include gender, it is definitely a step in the right direction for a more diverse industry.
OGUK chief executive, Deirdre Michie, said:
“I am delighted to announce the launch of our industry-wide survey on diversity and inclusion. D&I is critical to our efforts in delivering Roadmap 2035 – by fostering a diverse and inclusive working culture, we will secure and retain new talent, bring new perspectives and ideas to the fore and, ultimately, expand supply chain opportunities whilst continuing to contribute to the UK’s vital security of energy supply.”
Further to this, StocExpo, the world’s leading bulk liquid storage event has announced that the focal point for the 2021 event in Antwerp will be ‘Women in Tanks’ to highlight the women working in the tank storage sector.
Rikki Bhachu, StocExpo senior marketing manager, says:
“This new addition to StocExpo will be packed with the most inspiring women in the industry, where every story and experience, every new initiative and talk is relevant and every piece of advice another crack in the glass ceiling.”
We look forward to seeing where these new initiatives lead, and to reporting further on diversity in the industry in Fuel Oil News in print and online. What is your opinion on, or experience of, diversity in the sector? Let us know your thoughts.
UM Terminals’ Client Central Services team can provide customers with a wealth of important information including real-time data to make critical business decisions.
Based out of its Regent Road Terminal in Liverpool, the new service integrates all weighbridge and administration from across UM’s 8 terminals.
A dedicated portal gives clients instant access to essential weighbridge documentation and current stock levels for each tank. They also have a secure log-in and can access their data 24/7, 365 days a year via a desktop, tablet or mobile device.
Lynn McCoy, UM Terminals’ Client Central Services manager, said: “We looked at all of the administration going on across our UK sites and started to think about how we could streamline and bring it all together.
“The key was not just about centralising the service but ensuring that we maintained the same quality of personal service that customers were used to.
“Our weighbridge in particular had previously depended upon a lot of manual reporting, but which has now been moved online. Whereas before, there would have been lots of paper trails, we have now moved to a paperless solution in which information is stored electronically. The upshot is clearer, more accurate and faster information.”
The central control room at the Regent Road Terminal is filled with banks of screens giving Lynn and her team visibility of the different weighbridges along with immediate access to all customer information, such as current stock levels, via the client portal.
Lynn said: “We are one important link in the supply chain. Our job is to look after our customers’ products and their movement in and out of our terminals.
“Sometimes we don’t know until the last minute when they are going to be coming in. Operational planning and flexibility are key in a fast-moving environment like UM Terminals. At terminals like Portbury in Bristol and Gladstone in Birkenhead we can regularly be handling over 40 vehicles a day.”
Bryan Davies, managing director of UM Terminals, said: “We want to add value to the service we provide our clients and we believe the Client Central Services function has been a game-changer in providing customers with real-time data when they need it to assist their decision-making.
Lynn added: “While we have had a really positive response from customers to the centralised service, we know there is even more potential in the future to develop the client portal and the kind of reporting we can offer our customers. Ultimately, our job is to listen to and meet the needs of our clients.”
UM Terminals currently has a capacity of over 300,000 cubic metres of bulk liquid storage across 280 tanks of varying sizes. The plan is to grow this to over 400,000 cubic metres.
Product solutions include vegetable oils, industrial, food and feed, chemical, fertiliser, fuels, biofuels and base oils.
Services include blowing, blending, heating, processing and sampling among others.
The company, which employs 63 people, recently rebranded from UM Storage to UM Terminals to better reflect the range of services the company offers its clients. It is part of the UM Group which has a distinguished history stretching back almost 100 years.
In response to the launch of the Government’s 10-point plan on reaching net zero, Alex Veitch, general manager for public policy at Logistics UK, comments:
“Logistics businesses fully support the government’s aim to transition to a low-carbon economy, but the switch must be affordable for businesses. Logistics UK is urging government to ensure there are practical alternatives to petrol and diesel HGVs before a phase-out of these vehicles is considered. In order for the commercial sector to be able to deliver, government should work with industry to develop a long-term pathway to decarbonisation, providing clarity on the technology and alternative fuels it supports so that manufacturers and operators can invest with confidence.”
Smaller vehicles
“In terms of smaller vehicles, while logistics businesses are committed to switching to electric vans, the government must introduce a fairer way of funding grid reinforcements and energy supply upgrades; currently, the onus lies on a business to fund upgrades to the entire local electricity hub if there is insufficient energy supply in the existing infrastructure to power its electric vehicle fleet. Without a resilient energy and charging infrastructure the switch to electric vehicles will be a pipe dream for businesses.
“It is good to see that some models of hybrids will be excluded from the earlier ban date as they offer a practical bridging technology for van operators working in areas where access to charging infrastructure or electric vehicle model availability is limited.”
Paul Rose, CEO of OFTEC, responds to the Government plan for ‘Green Industrial Revolution’:
Decarbonising heat from UK homes is a national priority that must be urgently addressed. However, we are concerned about the high costs rural households are likely to face under current government proposals to achieve this.
The Prime Minister’s plan announced today for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ suggests it’s likely that rural households will soon be prevented from replacing their existing oil boilers and will instead be forced to switch to expensive electric heat pumps – the government’s preferred low carbon solution for rural homes.
Heat pumps are an excellent technology but they are expensive, costing on average £10,900 to install, and need to be fitted in well insulated homes to avoid high running costs and ensure comfort. However, oil heated homes are some of the least energy efficient in the UK, with almost two thirds (65%) in EPC bands E-G, equating to 765,000 properties².
BEIS estimates that bringing EPC Band E homes heated by oil up to an acceptable Band C, would cost on average £12,300. For properties in EPC Bands F or G, the cost would be £18,900³.
This means the total bill to decarbonise all 765,000 properties will be around £19.85 billion – equivalent to an average of almost £26,000 per home – and for some, the figure will be considerably higher.
Given the current economic climate and the fact that disposable incomes in rural areas are already lower and fuel poverty levels deeper, rural households are unlikely to have the capacity to make this level of investment. It is also unlikely that government will be able to support such high costs through grants or other support mechanisms.
Even those that can afford to act may face weeks without heating due to the length of time heat pump installations and the accompanying retrofit work can take to complete.
Recently, 47 OFTEC member companies, including leading household names such as Worcester Bosch, Kingspan and Grant Engineering, wrote to Minister of State for BEIS, highlighting their readiness and commitment to introduce a far cheaper, more practical solution in the form of a renewable liquid fuel to replace heating oil.
This option offers a near ‘drop-in’ solution for existing oil-heated homes, greatly reducing capital costs. It could also deliver rapid progress towards net zero if supported though appropriate policies, potentially saving rural households and government millions of pounds. Yet to date, BEIS has shown no appetite to support this solution.
At this critical time when BEIS is soon to publish its consultation to reduce carbon emissions from heat in buildings, we are urging all rural MPs and other interested members of the House to contact the Minister and press the urgent need to support renewable liquid fuels as a more affordable way forward for rural homes.
