Companies 8

News

Craggs support community during fuel crisis

Craggs Energy and Craggs Fuel Cards proved again how vital our industry is to the communities we serve when they opened up their Padiham Fuel Station to the public

News

Second Texaco support for sport initiative

For the second successive year, Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited has confirmed its commitment to host the 2021 Texaco Support for Sport initiative.

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Prax appointment brings wealth of knowledge

In a move that brings a wealth of fuel industry knowledge to the company, The Prax Group has appointed Mark Amor as managing director, UK Downstream.

News

Cycling the Pyrenees for World Land Trust

Setting out from San Sebastian on the Atlantic on Monday 20th September, Nick Smith, MD of A&D Publishing, publishers of Fuel Oil News, began his journey by bike to Perpignan on the Mediterranean to raise funds for World Land Trust.

News

Phillips 66 to sponsor fuel industry Expo

UKIFDA has announced that the hugely popular industry Expo will be back at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool next year and will be sponsored by Phillips 66 Limited.

News

Success despite oil demand & price slump

Leading Hull family business J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd has reported a successful trading year during 2020 despite ‘challenging and uncertain times’ brought about by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

News

Rawlings Fuels – putting the customer first

Hampshire-based Rawlings Fuels is an independent supplier of fuel oils delivering to domestic and commercial customers, including farms and agricultural companies. Its beginnings were in a transport company, from which the fuel company emerged, grew and eventually moved to its new dedicated depot just over a year ago in March 2020.

News

Morgans take on Sahara Desert for Hospice

Well-known for taking on marathons around the world, Hugh Morgan, CEO of Morgan Fuels, is soon to take on his biggest challenge to date. In just a few weeks Hugh will be participating in an event known as the toughest foot race on earth to raise money for two amazing charities, Irish Hospice Foundation and NI Hospice.

News

New fleet director to support Suttons growth plans

Suttons Tankers has appointed a new fleet director to further support the strategic growth plans of the business. The [appointment of Steve Hassall, recognised by the DVSA as an Earned Recognition Operator, is part of a continuous improvement plan to futureproof the scalability of the business and support the ambitious growth plans.

News

Essar in new aviation fuel partnership

Essar Oil (UK) Limited has begun supplying jet fuel directly to airlines at Cardiff Airport, with new deals having already been secured with various carriers that operate flights from the facility. These agreements demonstrate further the continued success of the Essar aviation fuels business, with direct supply arrangements now in place with carriers at five major airports across the UK – Manchester, Birmingham, London Stansted, Leeds-Bradford and Cardiff. Adam Brayne, aviation & business development manager at Essar, commented: “Adding Cardiff Airport to our UK network is a further chapter in our growth story, as Essar continues to support major airlines through what we hope will be a recovery period for the sector. We look forward to a successful partnership with the airport and are delighted to have already secured direct business with a number of key airline customers there.” David Walters, chief financial officer of Cardiff Airport, added: “We have been working hard to ensure suitable choice is available to our airline partners at Cardiff Airport, and we are very pleased that Essar has agreed to work with us as a new long-term fuel partner. We really look forward to working closely with the company, as we welcome more flights and airlines back to Cardiff.”

Interview

Rawlings Fuels putting the customer first

Hampshire-based Rawlings Fuels is an independent supplier of fuel oils delivering to domestic and commercial customers, including farms and agricultural companies. Its beginnings were in a transport company, from which the fuel company emerged, grew and eventually moved to its new dedicated depot just over a year ago in March 2020. A year on from the move, managing editor, Margaret Major, visited Tom Davies, director of Rawlings Fuel, and the team at the Hook depot to hear how things are going now.

Interview

In celebration of Prince Petroleum

Prince Petroleum was recently approved for two prestigious accreditations following a project that began in late 2020.

News

NWF Group eyes acquisitions after second highest profit performance on record

Announcing figures for the year to May 3, 2021, the Nantwich-based fuel, food and feed distributor, NWF Group, has declared them to be ‘another strong set of results, ahead of expectations’ which presents ‘a significant opportunity for growth’. The performance represents the second highest profit performance on record for the Group. The response to Covid-19 has been effective throughout, with continually updated risk assessments across the Group enabling safe working and ensuring customer needs have been met by all divisions. Whilst all divisions have remained open and operational, providing essential services, there was a notable outperformance in the fuels division, with strong heating oil demand supported by a cold winter and an increase in home working during the pandemic. A headline operating profit of £9.3 million (2020: £11.0 million) was ahead of expectations and against a prior year which benefitted from a significant fall in the oil price. Overall revenues were down slightly at £675.6m, compared with £687.5m the previous year, and pre-tax profits were down 10% at £10.8m. However, net debt reduced by 19% to £31.3m, and the total dividend has been increased, for the tenth consecutive year, by 4.3% to 7.2p per share, which the board said reflected its confidence in the prospects for the business. Richard Whiting, chief executive, NWF Group plc, commented: “NWF has delivered another strong set of results, ahead of expectations set before the pandemic, demonstrating continued performance, delivery and resilience. Our teams have worked hard during the year meeting customers’ needs whilst staying safe. I’m proud of how we have responded to the challenge of Covid-19, Brexit and a cyber incident and exited the year strongly, with significant financial capacity and a clear growth strategy. “There is a significant opportunity for growth backed by strong cash flows and flexible banking facilities alongside a strong asset base. We will therefore continue to consider acquisition opportunities, building on our successful track record of acquiring and integrating businesses, as well as investment in organic development. “Performance to date in the current financial year has been in line with the Board’s expectations. Overall, the Board continues to remain confident about the Group’s future prospects.”

News

New CEO to assist delivery of energy transition at Essar Oil UK

Essar has announced the appointment of Deepak Maheshwari as chief executive officer for Essar Oil (UK) Ltd (EOUK). Deepak joins EOUK, an important asset in the energy portfolio of Essar Global Fund, at a transformative juncture as it accelerates its transition to a ‘Low Carbon Energy Provider’ of the future. As CEO, Deepak will work closely with the EOUK Board on the delivery of a number of strategic energy transition projects aimed at making Stanlow a green refinery to meet the post-carbon needs of a progressive UK. Amongst these are HyNet (a low carbon hydrogen energy and carbon capture project) which will transform the North West of England and North Wales into one of the world’s first low carbon industrial clusters, together with the building of a biofuels business which will include production of both renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With more than 25 years’ senior leadership experience across the utilities, energy, and infrastructure sectors in Europe and Asia, Deepak will lead an experienced management team and further strengthen corporate governance within the ESG framework. EOUK chairman, Prashant Ruia, said: “We are delighted to welcome Deepak to EOUK. His immense corporate experience will prove invaluable during such an important period of growth for the company, which is aiming to be a leading player in the transition towards a sustainable society by delivering cleaner energy solutions.” Deepak commented: “I am delighted to be joining EOUK as chief executive officer and look forward to building on the impressive legacy that Essar colleagues have created. The UK’s green economy continues to develop and flourish, and the Board and I will work hard to ensure EOUK sits at the fulcrum of the UK’s sustainable, low carbon future.”  

News

Scottish fuel distributor expands again

Scotland’s fastest-growing fuel distribution company, Oilfast, has announced an investment of over £700k in a further fleet expansion with the addition of five Volvo FE 6×2 Rigid Tankers. Specialising in heating oil, red diesel, derv and licensed AdBlue and delivering to both domestic and commercial customers, the fleet additions are part of Oilfast’s commitment to expand and improve. The company has a growing base in Wales with 8 depots across Scotland and Wales and the five new trucks will operate out of the company’s Crieff, Grangemouth & Insch Depots in Scotland. William Nicol, transport & operations director commented: “We deliver excellent service to the UK, no matter the circumstance – even during COVID-19. That is why we are reinvesting back into the areas of the business that matter most to our customers.” The Tanker build The tankers are built by Cobo on a Volvo FE chassis with discharge and metering equipment from Emco Wheaton. After shipping the vehicle chassis to Emco Wheaton’s workshop in Margate, the specialist team attach the new metering equipment to the chassis for transport to Spain. On arrival in Spain, the team at Cobo install the chassis and tanker together – a process that can take serval weeks to perfect before returning to the UK. Once the build is complete the tanker is returned to the UK for testing to ensure it is safe for transporting fuel. After passing this test it is then sent to be branded in the iconic Oilfast logo & saltire before being delivered to the Motherwell head office. Key features Each tanker has a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 26 tonnes giving a maximum carrying capacity of 17,500 litres and are equipped with 5 compartments to allow for a wide range of products and services. All vehicles come with 3 key safety features: Overfill protection Electrical isolation Earthing & vapour recovery What comes next? Oilfast is quick to acknowledge the part their customers have played in putting them in the position to expand the fleet as William explains: “As we grow as a company, so does our customer base and we want to ensure that we do right by all our customers. As such, the technology may change but our approach to customer service will not. We do not have call centres; we will always have community focused depots that offer a localised approach to providing our services. As such, we are still committed to providing the best service possible.” And, looking ahead, William concludes: “Our vehicle investment for 2021 is now over £1million. With a further 8 tankers coming in 2022 this takes our total investment in vehicles to over £2.5million in two years. As we grow, it’s important we reinvest back into the areas that got us here in the first place. We are extremely excited to see the next generation of Oilfast tankers out on the road and hopefully, our customers are too.”

News

New inland sales manager for Mabanaft

Having recently been promoted to the role of inland sales manager at Mabanaft Clare Charlton is enjoying the challenge and responsibility and is also looking forward to working with the management team as the company develops its supply of more sustainable fuels. Maintaining high levels of service Clare joined Mabanaft in 2019 as a key account manager and has risen rapidly to take on this new role. The inland sales department is responsible for selling fuel to a diverse range of customers, from resellers, distributors and commercial/end users to bunkering network users and supermarkets. Clare will be working with her team to ensure that all customers’ needs are met and that the high levels of service that the company is renowned for are diligently maintained. Building lasting relationships Clare said: “I am enjoying the challenge and responsibility of my new role at Mabanaft. I love the company ethos of building strong and lasting relationships with customers, it’s something everyone here buys into. I also really like the people, there’s a good team spirit and plenty of positive collaboration which makes for a great working environment.” Supporting customers through changing times “The last 18 months have been dominated by the global pandemic. People still needed fuel and I am proud of how my team managed to support customers and deliver excellent service throughout. Our industry is undergoing massive change and I am looking forward to working with the management team to seek new opportunities to support the transition to new and more sustainable fuels.”

News

Europump Maintenance H&S recognised with gold star

Europump Maintenance (EPM) has received a glowing health and safety review from Hanson Cement for work carried out at the client’s Ribblesdale site. With the account being a relatively new one for EPM, the team had to go on site to do a PPM (planned preventative maintenance) check. At the same time, a Europump engineer was on site to do a line test. During the visit, Hanson’s team carried out a spot check on EPM’s work. Europump service engineer, Graham McAlister, said: “Ribblesdale is a big cement plant with a fuel island on site. While undertaking our work we had to ensure that we were protecting ourselves and the working area. Someone from Hanson came out on site with a clipboard to do a spot check and scored us for health and safety measures. They said they were absolutely over the moon with what we were doing and awarded us a gold star, which is their highest rating!” Steven Bamford, workshop co-ordinator at Hanson UK’s Ribblesdale works, said: “We were very impressed with the Europump engineers, especially with how professional and organised they were with regards to isolating the area and making the work area safe for themselves and others.” McAlister added: “It’s lovely to get feedback like this but what Hanson thought was impressive was actually normal for us!”

News

The Prax Group appoint interim CFO

The Prax Group has appointed Rob Marrow as interim group chief financial officer (CFO) with immediate effect. The group is continuing its search for a permanent CFO and will update the market on its progress as appropriate. Rob brings with him a wealth of experience in roles that have included responsibility for strategy, corporate finance, M&A transactions, and investor relations.  He was more recently, the commercial and financial lead for the group in the acquisition of Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery. With over two decades of experience across oil and gas, manufacturing, technology, retail, supply chain and trading, he is an experienced finance leader with a proven track record of delivering growth, championing change and building teams. Sanjeev Kumar, chief executive officer, said: “Rob’s broad financial experience and comprehensive knowledge of our business make him a strong appointment as our interim group CFO, providing continuity while we continue our search for a permanent CFO.” Rob will succeed Robin Edwards, who sadly passed away on 30 June 2021.    

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Essar makes senior appointment

Essar is pleased to announce the further strengthening of its executive leadership team with the appointment of Karunakaran (Karan) Hari as chief commercial officer for Essar Oil UK.

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Winner of UKIFDA Innovation Award announced

Cornwall-based liquid fuel distributor for the South-West Mitchell & Webber has won the UKIFDA Innovation Award for being at the forefront of the sector’s Future Fuels campaign and for making a real difference in the industry’s drive to make renewable liquid fuel a viable alternative to heating oil for off the gas grid properties. Sponsored by industry trade magazine Fuel Oil News, UKIFDA launched the Innovation Award in 2021 to find and commend the one thing that makes the industry stand out – and will always support the most innovative products, services, or initiatives.

News

Phillips 66 supertanker makes historic voyage

In May this year, the Clipper Freeport – a VLGC (Very Large Gas Carrier which can carry approx. 44,000 mts of LPG) carrying LPG from the Phillips 66 Freeport LPG Export Terminal on the Gulf of Mexico, docked at Immingham Port on England’s east coast. Chartered by Phillips 66 since its maiden voyage in 2017, the Clipper Freeport was the first-ever VLGC to enter Immingham – the largest vessel to enter the Port. A complex operation made possible by a seamless collaborative effort between London Commercial, Humber caverns and APT/ABP – the two-port schedule saw 25 KMT of refrigerated propane successfully discharged before heading to Europe for its second discharge. Measuring 230.11 metres in length with a 32-metre breadth and a 11.5 metre draft, the vessel is so vast that Phillips 66 had to have a new gangway constructed. Paul Turner, Phillips 66 Limited LPG sales manager in the UK made his way to Immingham Caverns to welcome the Clipper Freeport and was invited onboard to check out this monumental supertanker: “The Clipper Freeport really is an immensely impressive vessel and equally so when on board. Apart from the sheer scale, what struck me most about this world-class LPG carrier is how immaculate every part of the ship is – considering the nature of her operations. An extraordinary environment managed and maintained by an expert, dedicated crew. They even have a basketball court on deck!” Whilst LPG is primarily produced and supplied into the UK market by Phillips 66 Limited’s Humber facility, it is supplemented by imported propane to meet increasing customer demand.