Eterna Oil is the owner of 30metric litres petroleum products storage depot in

Tag : lubricating oil
After several years in limbo due to someunforeseen circumstances that caused a nose-dive of its operations,Eterna Oil Plc has resurfaced in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) with the official opening of its Wuye district flagshippetroleum products retail complex.
Eterna Oil, a quoted public limited integrated energy outfit,engages in the manufacturing and sale of lubricating oils,importation and bulk oil as well as retail sale of petroleumproducts, including automotive gas oil (AGO), or diesel; premiummotor spirit (PMS), or petrol, base oils, bitumen, export oflubricants, bunkering, gas distribution and marketing, among otherservices.
The company said it was repositioning its operations in response tothe competitive challenges in the nation's petroleum industry.
Arising from its technical trading relationship with BP-Castrol,Eterna Oil blends and supplies Castrol marine lubricants to thelocal fishing and shipping industry.
Eterna Oil entered the Nigerian market in 1991, before securing apart funding package from the International Finance Corporation(IFC)in 1996 to build the first Castrol certified 35,000 metrictones capacity lube blending plant in sub-saharan Africa at Sagamuinterchange.
The company became a public limited company (PLC)in 1998, with itsshares listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),emerging the leading marine lubricants marketer in Nigeria in 2001.
A major draw back for the company's operations was its involvementbetween 2001 and 2003 in the controversial acquisition of AfricanPetroleum (AP)together with Sadiq Petroleum as co-core investor.The transaction was a flop, thus throwing it into a financial spinand distress, which claimed its major revenue assets (stations)inAbuja and Lagos There was a ray of hope for the company's recoverywhen in 2005 it began a restructuring and repositioning of itsoperations, which led to its winning the prestigious Pearl award in2006 for achieving the highest turnover growth amongst publiclyquoted companies.
During the recent commissioning of the Abuja mega station, Chairmanof the company, Ade Ojo, said the retail outfit has been designedas a one-stop shop for the provision of services beyond merefueling of cars, adding that there is programme to replicate thestation in key business areas nationwide.
Managing Director of Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC), asubsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)incharge of marketing and distribution of petroleum products,Reginald Stanley, called on the Ministry of the Federal CapitalTerritory to allocate more prime lines to the territory for theestablishment of more filling stations in the area.
According to Stanley, there are only 65 filling stations in Abuja,whereas over 100 stations are required to effectively service thearea.
Stanley, who stated this while commissioning the flagship retailcomplex, declared that without more stations in the FCT, therewould be a problem getting products distributed as the territory isaccording to him under-pumped.
He charged the management of Eterna Oil to ensure zero tolerance oncorruption, urging them to maintain the high standard of servicesalready set on ground by ensuring that their stations were not therickety type.
The PPMC boss stressed that it was only when independent marketerslook beyond outdated facilities that they would be able to attractgood business to their organisations.
Assuring the Eterna Oil management of his support to facilitatetheir getting credit facility, Stanley expressed the hope that thecompany would metamorphose into a major oil company as itsoperations continue to expand. Managing Director of the company,Ibrahim Boyi, in his address said the company has grown from nilretail outlets to at least 15 distribution outlets spread acrossthe country, with plans to open more outlets before the end of theyear.
In addition to its ultra-modern BP-Castrol approved lubricantsblending plant, Eterna Oil, according to Boyi, is the owner of 30metric litres petroleum products storage depot in Lagos as well asan aviation fuel depot in Abuja, among others.
"Our strategy for retail network business is to launch our stationsin carefully selected locations and ensure that our stations offernot only fuels, but cater for other customers' conveniences, suchas banking services, car care, eatery and supermarkets. We aim toprovide a one stop shop for our customer's convenience," he stated.
He explained that the station is equipped with security gadgets toprovide additional security for customers and that very soon itwould commence 24-hour operations.
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