26 September 2016, Lagos – In line with its commitment to drive excellence in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Heyden Petroleum Limited has acquired 40 new petrol stations, thus bringing the number of its retail outlets to 50.
The upgrade of the newly acquired petrol stations is currently ongoing and is billed for completion in months.
Speaking weekend at the unveiling of one of the rebranded retail outlets, located in Alapere axis on the ever-busy Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, the Managing Director, Dapo Abiodun, said the company invested has over N10billion in the acquisition of the new petrol stations.
Abiodun, who is also the Chairman of Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), said the filling stations are being upgraded to ensure consumers get value for their money at every visit to the firm’s retail outlets.
The firm’s retail outlets are strategically located in major cities such as Lagos and Ogun. However, the company plans to expand its retail outlets operations to Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Kwara, FCT Abuja and other parts of the country.
According to Abiodun, “We have acquired over 40 petrol stations presently, which brought our total to 50 fuel stations.
Our stations are located in Lagos and Ogun states respectively. Ogun is a new market for us. We will begin our expansion to Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Kwara, FCT Abuja (which we are currently working on) and other parts of the country.”
The Heyden Petroleum boss stated that the Victoria Garden City (VGC) petrol station is being rebranded and would be inaugurated soon. The VGC retail outlet, perhaps the biggest filling station in Lagos currently, has 26 pumps to dispense petrol to 26 vehicles simultaneously.
“We are one of the biggest importers of petroleum products in the country; we have our tank farms, ships and good distribution networks. Therefore, our filling stations will always have fuel. We have built a good brand in terms of doing wholesale and coming down the retail line to add to the value chain”, he said.
The DAPMAN chair emphatically stated: “The VGC station will be unveiled in the next one month. We have other stations in Lagos. We are going to be inaugurating them monthly or every three months; we are working on them in batches of five so that by December, we would have inaugurated all of them.”
He added: “What we witnessed from the first two we launched has been very successful. We are very much encouraged that Nigerians appreciate stations that were well built and managed.
“That for us is what we have done and we are justified with the result we have seen and we will continue to do this. We are here to redefine how petrol is sold to the public and we are confident that we will be seen as one of the leaders in the petroleum retail sector.’’
The newly launched retail outlet in Lagos has nine pumps; seven of the nine are dual dispensers, which imply that 14 vehicles can buy petrol at the same time. It also has one pump for kerosene and diesel. In all, it has 16 dispensing units and about 15 attendants employed by the company.
Abiodun commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu for the deregulation of the downstream sector, noting that “this is a feat which previous administrations had tried, but failed.” The deregulation brought the incentive to establish the retail business.’’
The Group Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr. Henry Ikem-Obih said at the unveiling of the new filling station that globall
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