Largest fuel retailer ready for winter

Petrol, the largest fuel retailer on the Slovenian market, has adjusted its logistics to the possible challenges in winter. Having improved its anticipation of spikes in demand following June’s fuel shortages, the company is also prepared to supply more heating oil should it be needed for electricity generation.

Petrol, around a third of which is owned by the state directly or indirectly, has several scenarios ready to support the country in times of energy crisis.

Should thermal power staions need more heating oil, Petrol could supply more to Sermin, its main storage facility near the port of Koper, and increase its transport by rail and motorway to inland facilities, management board member Jože Bajuk said at Friday’s briefing with journalists.

Bajuk, who is in charge of energy, logistics and operations at Petrol, said that the supply of households and businesses with gas should also remain stable.

Petrol co-owns with the state Geoplin, the biggest gas trader in the country, with Bajuk saying the company is ready for the winter.

Both households and businesses are looking for alternatives to natural gas, households for heating oil and businesses for heating oil and LPG where possible.

ON Friday, Geoplin shareholders approved a liquidity loan contract for the company, which is according to media reports worth EUR 50 million, and appointed Matija Bitenc Geoplin’s new director. Petrol CEO Nada Drobne Popovič meanwhile told MPs yesterday it would become clear by mid-November whether Geoplin needed a capital hike.

“We’re confident that we’re keeping up with all the needs, but the winter will show how this infrastructure will actually be used,” Bajuk said at the media briefing.

Following a severe shortage of fuel at several petrol stations around Slovenia in June when demand increased due to an anticipated price hike, Petrol’s responsiveness is much better now. However, Bajuk said fuel transport by rail from Sermin to inland storage facilities remains a bottleneck.

Sermin has a capacity of 480,000 cubic metres, with more than half being intended for Slovenia’s commodity reserves, said Rok Cizej, executive director for logistics.

The annual amount handled at Sermin is 3.75 million cubic metres, with the main two storage facilities for petroleum products inland, Zalog and Rače, having the capacity of 20,000 and 60,000 cubic metres, respectively. Four to six trains can each bring a million litres of fuel from Sermin to Zalog and Rače a day, said Cizelj.

Bajuk meanwhile believes that the embargo on Russia oil brought to the EU by sea, which kicks in at the end of the year, will not significantly affect fuel prices. More than the embargo, the prices could be affected by economic activity trends, he said, mentioning a potential recession next year.

The post Largest fuel retailer ready for winter appeared first on Slovenia Times.