UK: Oil Company Profits Not be Confused with Service Station Prosperity
|
|
|
|
Monday, 05 May 2008 |
|
‘While oil companies announced high profits most forecourt retailers
sold fuel at a loss, and this is not an unusual situation for them,’
said Ray Holloway, Director of the British RMI Petrol Retailers Association
(PRA) commenting the price of fuel and its impact on the future
viability of the service station sector.
Holloway continues: ‘The issues of supply at Grangemouth thrust the
issue of fuel pricing back onto the front pages, but the actual prices
were not directly affected by that situation. Prices were rising
already for retailers and motorists alike as a result of annual
recurring high summer demand for oil.’
BP and Shell are international oil companies. Most of the profits made
by BP and Shell are the result of oil exploration activities abroad.
This is a separate business to the UK forecourt retail sector.
Holloway explains: ‘Most of the sites in the UK branded BP or Shell are
actually independent retailers. They work in a challenging business
area, with high costs and very low returns. Most are kept afloat by the
shop attached to their site.
‘For many, these numbers are unsustainable and they are being forced to
close in increasing numbers. Around 300 filling stations shut down
every year, and motorists are now noticing gaps in fuel availability,
and if it gets worse as expected, they will certainly be inconvenienced
when searching for a forecourt in some areas.’
There are around 9,200 forecourts in the UK, including supermarket
filling stations. This is the lowest number of filling stations in the
UK since 1912. Since the fuel protests in 2000, one third of the
filling stations open at the time have disappeared.
PetrolWorld 020508
|
