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The first ship powered solely by liquified natural as (LNG) is to unload at the iconic Oikos jetties on the River Thames.
The ship, Ramanda, from the Gothia Tanker Alliance series of vessels based in Sweden, offers significant environmental benefits and lower costs, with LNG use significantly reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions, Sulpur Dioxide output by close to 100% and Nitrogen Oxide particulates by 85%.
Tony Woodward, general manager of Oikos Storage Ltd., said;
“It is imperative that the whole fuel supply chain plays its part in tackling climate change. By hosting multi-fuel greener vessels and developing the port and storage infrastructure for the next generation of fuels, we are proud to be playing our small part in the decarbonisation of the fuel sector and the country’s critical national infrastructure.”
Nigel Thomason, British Fluid Power Association Distributor chairman, condemns hose re-ending in the power generation sector as the UK’s fluid power trade association launches its ‘Choose Q for Quality’ campaign highlighting BFPA Approved Quality members.
Hoyer says ‘detailed contingency plans’ will be put in place to ‘ensure any action has a negligible impact on our operations’, adding that it remains committed to engaging with the union to find ways to ‘mitigate the redundancies’.
The Hoyer Petrolog UK employees based at the Stanlow oil refinery, in Ellesmere Port, will be taking action in response to plans to make six of the 20+ drivers redundant. The 24-hour strikes will take place on November 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 25th and 27th.
Unite regional officer Steve Gerrard said;
“Unite’s members have delivered a stunning mandate in favour of industrial action.
“Despite Unite giving Hoyer every opportunity to resolve this dispute through negotiations, it has refused to do so and as a consequence and as a last resort Unite has announced strike dates.
“Our members regret that their action will cause considerable disruption to fuel deliveries but believe they have no other option in order to save their jobs.
“Fuel tanker drivers are frontline workers and throughout this pandemic their work has ensured that other frontline workers can continue to go to work. They deserve to be treated better than this.
“The ball is now firmly in Hoyer’s court. It can still avoid strike action occurring by withdrawing the threat of job cuts.”
A Hoyer spokesman said;
“We can confirm that we have received notification of industrial action at our parking location in Cheshire which will result in a small number of our fuel tankers not operating on the nominated days.
“However, we will be implementing detailed contingency plans to ensure any action has a negligible impact on our operations.
“We remain committed to engaging with the union representatives regarding any meaningful and realistic proposals that can be put forward in order to mitigate the redundancies.
“However, the challenge remains that these jobs rely directly on people returning to driving their cars and flying in planes at ‘normal’ levels – things which are simply beyond our control.”
The brothers behind the international fuel and convenience empire, Euro Garages Group (EG Group), Mohsin and Zuber Issa, have been selected by Walmart as the prime candidates to acquire Asda.
The possibility of expanding the supermarket business in their petrol station network is a key part of the operation that has put the Issa brothers and TDR, the London-based private equity backer of EG Group, in pole position.
Previously, it was private equity firm Apollo Global Management that was reported to be the leading option, but Asda announced in September that it would be trialling a new convenience store concept at EG Group stations.
Since its formation in 2016, EG Group has built an empire with acquisition after acquisition, now employing 50,000 people across almost 6,000 sites in the UK, Australia, Europe and the U.S. With the support of TDR Capital, the Issa brothers are known for their innovative ideas, smart strategic approach and ambition.
In the last three years, EG Group has acquired thousands of stations and convenience stores from Esso in Italy and Germany, Kroger, Certified Oil, Travel Centers of America, Woolworths in Australia and Cumberland Farms in the U.S, a far cry from the single garage in Bury that the brothers bought for £150,000 in 2001.
The £6.5 billion acquisition of Asda would mean a huge challenge for the brothers from Blackburn, as they enter the supermarket industry. Acquiring the British supermarket business will mean the 600 stores in the UK will return to British hands for the first time in over 20 years.
Barton Petroleum has deployed the Microlise Fleet Performance solution to improve safety and driver performance and deliver increased efficiencies across its fleet.
The Microlise fleet tracking and utilisation solution will improve the fleet’s real-time visibility and routeing efficiency, enhance driver and customer communication and support better driving performance and safer, more compliant practices.
According to Howard Marriott, group transport manager at Barton Petroleum Ltd;
“By partnering with Microlise, and utilising this integrated solution, we are ensuring that we equip our fleet with a best-in-class safety, compliance and fleet management solution that will deliver a quantifiable ROI.
“We are confident that our investment will introduce an enhanced level of operating performance and efficiency while protecting and supporting our drivers.”
Nadeem Raza, Microlise chief executive officer, added;
“We are pleased to be providing Barton Petroleum with additional tools to manage, monitor and positively impact on its operation and drive improved fleet efficiencies.
“Every customer we work with requires a fit-for-purpose solution, and we are delighted to support Barton Petroleum to increase its organisational capability and sustainability.”
Microlise is one of Europe’s largest technology, telematics and transport management solution providers, working with 14 of the UK’s 15 largest retailers and managing more than 500,000 active vehicle connections worldwide.
Having partnered to deliver the Accreditation of MCA Marine Oil Spill Response Organisations in 2018, UK Spill Association and International Spill Accreditation Association have since been working closely together in the marine, shoreline and inland environment, sharing resources to deliver accreditation services to members.
Consequently, the opportunity to merge was agreed by members of both associations and a merger agreement was signed by both boards at the end of September, enabling the merger to be completed on 30 September 2020.
The merger enables:
A small but significant aspect of the awe-inspiring £103m project, Tuffa has been tasked with manufacturing a petrol tank for Leicester City Football Clubs’ new state-of-the-art training ground. The tank will have the all-important task of fuelling the fleet of maintenance vehicles required to look after the LCFC grounds.
The site is set to be amongst the worlds’ leading training facilities. Construction and development giants McLaren Group is responsible for designing and building the grounds which will feature a full-size indoor artificial pitch, 11 full-size outdoor pitches, eight smaller pitches, five training grids and two goalkeeping areas, as well as a hydrotherapy pool, media centre and offices.
Tasked with the job of fighting back the weeds, strategising over grass care, and conserving every inch of the 185-acre plot, a former golf course, to the highest standards is a small army of groundskeepers. LCFC has provided the groundskeepers with the best equipment money can buy. This includes a fleet of around 30 John Deere maintenance vehicles consisting of gators and ride-on mowers. With so many maintenance vehicles requiring between 40 and 50 litres of fuel to fill, McLaren knew that the grounds required a petrol tank onsite.
Fortunately, LCFC was already well acquainted with the reputable tank manufacturer, as the company manufactured a tank and water bowser for LCFC’s new Broadcast Media Centre in 2018.
This time, Tuffa was tasked with manufacturing a tank for LCFC with McLaren choosing Tuffa’s 975 litre petrol tank, manufactured in accordance with the Blue book guidelines and DSEAR (Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmospheres Regulations) as standard. Because the tanks are fire-proofed and bunded they also offer protection to the site and environment. Additionally, McLaren chose to upgrade the tank with a Hytek Alpha FC10 forecourt-style dispenser and fuel management system with passcodes to activate the pump and a purpose-built plinth for the tower.
McLaren construction’s design manager Spish Buja commented;
“The communication and service levels from Tuffa have been excellent throughout the entire process. The 975 litre petrol tank fits our requirements exactly, the delivery was tiptop and the installation was straightforward.”
Williams Tanker Services (WTS) is delighted to announce a brand new partnership with Italian waste tanker manufacturer Cappellotto, one of the world’s largest and most reputable manufacturers of waste tankers and associated equipment.
As the new UK distributor for Cappellotto, WTS has ‘stock’ Cappellotto tankers on order for delivery in the UK throughout the year, and customer-specific orders can now be taken.
With a dedicated nationwide sales, engineering and parts team, together with specialist trained workshops and mobile service units, WTS has a solid background and infrastructure to support the new arrangement and assist in all matters.
Already long-standing UK distributors for LAG, and with years of rental and repairs of this niche specialist equipment under its belt, WTS are professionals in the sale and aftersales support of new tankers and experts in dealing with waste tankers. The new partnership with Cappellotto adds a market leader to the company’s sales portfolio.
Gleaner announces the 13 winning photographs and photographers for this year’s contest. The winning entries will feature in the company’s 2021 calendar.
Receiving over 200 entries, Gleaner showcased all 13 winning photographs on Facebook. A spokesperson for the company said;
“A big thank you once again to everyone who took the time to enter our calendar photograph contest.”
Congratulations to Owen Cochrane, Tanya Ritchie, Adrian Beard, Iain MacDiarmid, William Holmes, Gordon Doherty, Simon Wilderspin, Ali Hay, Lydia Newlands, Lynda Simpson, David England, Isobel Wood and Gibby Marr.
“The standard of photographs entered was really high, making it a really tough decision to choose the final 13 images.”
The 2021 calendars will be available to pick up from local delivery depots later this year.
The consultation, which closed on 1 October 2020, called for views on whether its intended removal of the entitlement to use red diesel from April 2022 except in agriculture, rail and non-commercial heating, has overlooked any exceptional reasons why other sectors should be allowed to continue to use red diesel after this date.
Tony Brown, UKIFDA technical manager, comments;
“As always, we support tackling climate change and finding ways to meet the UK’s net zero targets.
“The proposal to remove the entitlement to use red diesel from all but a select few sectors in less than two years could have adverse impact on business, the economy and, ultimately, the consumer – after all, new technology may not be fully operational in that time frame.”
UKIFDA believes the changes to the legislation of red diesel could impact not only consumers and fuel distribution suppliers but also primary users with those impacted including the construction industry, pleasure craft industry, refrigeration transport and users of back-up generators such as hospitals, data centres and schools.
“Curbing the use of red diesel in such a short amount of time would impose immediate additional tax of significant value for many industries – and in industries that are already operating on reduced margins due to Covid-19 restrictions and competition in the markets,” adds Tony.
“This would likely result in businesses having to pass the extra costs onto consumers. There would also be cashflow issues for fuel distributors and additional unnecessary and burdensome administration for fuel distributors if the proposals in this consultation come to fruition.”
When it comes to the sectors excluded from the proposed removal of entitlement to use red diesel from April 2022, UKIFDA is largely in agreement.
UKIFDA chief executive Guy Pulham comments;
“We lobbied the government ahead of the Budget 2020 and are pleased agriculture will maintain the current entitlement. We are, however, happy to sit with government, the NFU and other interested parties, and plan a transition towards low carbon fuel in a time frame that meets net zero and maintains food production too.
“With regard to non-commercial heating being excluded, red diesel has a very limited use for domestic heating and the main fuel used in the UK is kerosene.
“We are, however, against abolishing the tax rebates on heating oil, currently being considered by government, as any increase in fuel bills will hit the most vulnerable homeowners the hardest. Penalising households with higher energy bills won’t incentivise them to change either.
“Instead, UKIFDA is keen for the government to consider liquid biofuels as a low carbon alternative to heating oil and urges investment in the UK biofuels sector – industry analysis shows that sustainable, low carbon liquid fuels could be produced in sufficient volume in the UK, and with the added benefit of creating investment and green job opportunities.
“Whilst we are pleased certain sectors have been excluded, especially agriculture, we urge the government to consider the impact its proposed changes will have on other sectors. For example, hospitals and schools may well have taken advantage of the recent cheaper fuel prices and bought large stocks of red diesel – stocks that could last far beyond the April 2022 deadline and the loss of which would adversely impact those organisations.
“It is for this and many other reasons that a phased approach that incorporates working with UKIFDA and the relevant trade associations in all sectors could lead to the use of low carbon fuel in low carbon technology plant equipment – and in a time frame that suits net zero whilst maintaining industry growth and enterprise, and protects organisations from potentially devastating financial losses.
“April 2022 is a tight deadline given that the high cost of electric vehicles is a barrier to switching to non-diesel vehicles and machinery.”
Tony Brown concludes;
“We urge the government to reconsider its proposed deadline for removing the entitlement to use red diesel except in agriculture, rail and for non-commercial heating.
“We fully support the need to improve air quality and cut carbon emissions but believe the attainment of net zero targets needs a phased approach – one that considers the needs of all sectors as well as consumers.
“We want to work with government to devise a plan that both removes the entitlement to use red diesel and enables industries to switch to a low carbon alternative as soon as possible – and in a way that supports business.”
UK minister for business, energy and clean growth, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, has this week announced his support for UKIFDA’s ‘Get Winter Ready’ campaign.
Minister Kwarteng said;
“With colder months on the way, it is crucial that households relying on oil and liquefied petroleum gas for their heating are prepared, so I am fully supporting this ‘Get Winter Ready’ campaign.
“As the global coronavirus pandemic continues to have an impact on everyday life, it is more important than ever to get prepared and stay warm and safe this winter.”
Guy Pulham, UKIFDA chief executive adds;
“It is our hope that this campaign will help and encourage the 1.5m UK households who have oil heating to take winter readiness measures. Oil is currently the cheapest form of heating so it’s worth ensuring you have enough to last the whole winter.
“Due to COVID 19 and more local lockdowns being enforced we particularly want to encourage those who are aged 75+, who use oil to heat their homes to get winter ready and in particular sign up to the Cold Weather Priority (CWP) scheme, an initiative designed to help prevent excess winter deaths.
“The CWP initiative is industry-led and was created in full consultation with, and fully supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It has been designed to enable our UKIFDA member heating oil suppliers to identify those most vulnerable so they can ensure deliveries are prioritised for them when there are supply shortages or the weather is extremely cold.”
UKIFDA membership manager Dawn Shakespeare adds;
“The elderly are most at risk during the winter months as cold homes can be so destructive for individuals. Being cold can cause various health problems, increasing blood pressure or reducing the immune system and putting people at greater risk of respiratory illnesses. With Coronavirus an added risk, it is vital the elderly keep warm this winter.
“With the CWP scheme, our member suppliers can identify those most at risk from the cold and take proactive steps to prioritise deliveries to them, ensuring they have enough fuel to stay warm throughout winter. A warm house is key in the fight against excess winter deaths.
“It costs nothing to be part of the CWP initiative and you only need to ask your local UKIFDA Member oil distributor who supplies your heating oil and they will help. Similarly, if you have elderly neighbours or friends who also use heating oil to heat their homes, encourage them to sign up and stay warm all winter. Some Members have also temporarily extended this scheme to offer priority delivery to those in the age bracket 70+ and where possible those who must self-isolate due to COVID 19.”
UKIFDA has advice on its website about taking winter readiness measures and ordering heating oil during the pandemic which can be found here and to find out more about the Cold Weather Priority, visit https://ukifda.org/cold-weather-priority-initiative/.
In a new partnership, Nolan oils will utilise a recognition platform, developed by Arteel UK Ltd, to enhance employee engagement and improve business performance.
“I am thrilled that Mark Nolan and his team have put their faith in ARTEEL to provide them with our recognition platform,” says Ian Feaver, managing director at Arteel UK Ltd. “We have a clear objective for Nolan Oils to help them recognise the amazing day to day efforts and work that happens. This will ensure people feel appreciated and valued, which in turn will create higher employee engagement and when this happens, it has a positive knock on effect for the entire business.”
“We had been looking for something creative when it came to recognising our people for their day to day efforts and when we saw what Arteel had to offer we knew we had found something very special. Our ‘Nolan Oils’ recognition platform enables our people to give peer to peer recognition and will enhance our team spirit and togetherness,” says Mark Nolan, managing director at Nolan Oils. “I really want our team to know how valued they are and never take for granted all the good work they do.”
The recognition platform provided by Arteel will be branded for Nolan Oils and will enable peer to peer recognition to take place. The main focus for the platform will be Nolan Oils company core values, so that employees can give and receive recognition for the behaviours that align with these values. Frequent recognition will not only help the team feel more valued and engaged, but it will encourage the right behaviours that lead to better business outcomes.
Essar Oil UK, which owns and operates the Stanlow Refinery, has today announced a new agreement with ASDA for the supply of petrol and diesel in the Midlands.
ASDA has an existing contract to lift road transport fuels direct from the Road Terminal at Stanlow. The new agreement, however, is the first time that the retail giant will source products from Essar’s Kingsbury Terminal, close to Birmingham.
Mark Amor, head of marketing and logistics at Essar commented;
“We are delighted to strengthen further our relationship with a company as large as ASDA. Over the past few years, we have worked closely with them to service their customer needs by supplying high quality products from our Stanlow Refinery. We have now signed an agreement to provide part of their retail mix from our facilities at Kingsbury to support their business in the region.”
He added;
“The strategic 2019 acquisition of Midlands’ based distribution assets from multi-national BP, which included the Kingsbury and Northampton Terminals, expanded our logistics infrastructure network. This has enabled us to capture additional opportunities, such as this new deal with ASDA, and will underpin our further commercial and marketing growth in the UK.”
Harvest Energy Marine, a member of the Prax Group of companies, has announced its acquisition of the Total Zeebrugge Depot in Belgium.
The Prax Group has worked closely with Total Belgium over the last few months to ensure the smooth acquisition of the terminal. The facility will be re-branded as Prax Terminals Belgium, with Harvest Energy Marine managing all bunkering and commercial operations performed at the terminal.
With a 20,000 cubic metre capacity, the Prax Group will use the terminal for the storage of marine bunker fuels. Its strategic location in the outer port of Zeebrugge means the company can cater to many customers throughout North West Europe, including car carriers, cruise ships, container lines and RORO vessels, offering ship owners and operators a minimum turnaround time in one of the world’s busiest ports.
The terminal is ideally situated to enable the Prax Group to focus on its strategic plans to expand its presence in northwestern European coastal waters.
Sanjeev Kumar, CEO of the Prax Group, said; “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of the terminal in the port of Zeebrugge, which reflects our strategic objective to move into a new stage of accelerated investment, growth and development. This acquisition demonstrates our proactive approach to the ever-changing needs of our customers in the marine fuels environment and our commitment to build a robust and reliable supply chain to meet those needs. It is the natural evolution in our progression towards making Harvest Energy Marine a leading player in the global marine market.”
Geert Boden, general manager of Harvest Energy Marine, said; “As we continue to serve customers from right across the north west of the continent, it is imperative for us to maintain the strong brand reputation and high standards of safety, supply and service for which we are known. The acquisition of the terminal in Zeebrugge means that Harvest Energy Marine is readily able to adapt to the changes in the current bunkering market. We are in a great place to respond to the requirements of our customers, both new and existing, in order to continue to deliver innovative solutions to reduce refueling times, whilst providing customers with their most important resource.”
Partners from shipping, R&D and oil and gas are constructing a pilot system for ships, to allow them to use different types of fuel. New and flexible fuel cell technology makes way for different types of fuel including green ammonia and LNG and can reduce emissions from shipping by 40 to 100%. With this flexibility, vessels can choose fuel according to availability.
This year’s influential annual energy outlook from BP, published at the start of BP Energy Week, suggests peak oil demand may have already been reached last year. This marks a dramatic shift from last year when the base case expected consumption to grow over the next decade reaching a peak in the 2030s.
The new report sees oil being replaced by clean electricity from windfarms, solar panels and hydropower plants as renewable energy emerges as the fastest-growing energy source on record.
Bernard Looney, who became chief executive in February, said the report was “instrumental” in developing BP’s strategy for the energy transition, although the company stressed that the scenarios are not predictions.
He commented that ‘it was very difficult to know’ how the oil market trajectory will bear out, but it was possible that demand had hit its maximum level. “Could it have happened? It could have,” he said.
The central theme of this influential report is that the combination of the pandemic and increasing climate action may have hastened ‘peak oil’ which could, potentially, see absolute demand falling for the first time in an industry that has enjoyed sustained growth for more than 100 years.
Looking at likely energy demand over the next 30 years, two of the three scenarios considered by BP suggest that demand reached a peak in 2019 and is already into the start of a decades-long decline. The third scenario, based on no acceleration in climate action, suggests that demand will plateau at the 2019 level for several years before declining from around 2035.
While oil demand is not expected to collapse, a plateau or decline in consumption would fundamentally alter the outlook for investment in the industry and the willingness of shareholders to keep funding new projects.
Looney, said he was “more convinced than ever” that BP must embrace a low-carbon future and that the findings would help the company to “better understand the changing energy landscape” and be instrumental in helping it develop its plans to become a net zero energy company by 2050.
Whilst this appears to offer a gloomy outlook for the fossil fuel industry, it can also be viewed as a further opportunity for those involved to embrace transformation. Following the publication of the outlook, Looney has shared a blog, ‘10 reasons to be positive about the energy transition’, and commented;
“Anyone who knows me will probably accept I am not one for outrage. I’d rather find solutions than take positions. But I certainly find hope in optimism. And the belief that we can do good in this world.”