Africa-Press – Namibia. Edward West
GLENCORE PLC’s subsidiary, Astron Energy, on Friday unveiled its new-look service stations in South Africa, and is on track to reopen its refinery by the end of this year, chief executive officer Thabiet Booley said.
Edward West
GLENCORE PLC’s subsidiary, Astron Energy, on Friday unveiled its new-look service stations in South Africa, and is on track to reopen its refinery by the end of this year, chief executive officer Thabiet Booley said.
There has been some speculation among industry commentators about when the refinery, which Glencore acquired with all of Chevron SA’s assets in 2019, and which has been offline since mid-2020 after a fire, may reopen.
Engen closed its Durban refinery after a fire in late 2020, Shell and BP have halted operations at their Sapref refinery, while Sasol has been considering the future of its Natref refinery it owns with Total.
Astron’s refinery has a crude oil capacity of 100 000 barrels, and produces petrol, diesel, jet fuel, marine oils, liquified gas, and other speciality products.
Booley said in South Africa, the company’s key objectives were a safe and successful restart of the refinery, and to start the roll-out of the new look across the network of over 850 service stations.
He said the rebrand from Caltex to Astron Energy was the most significant change in the South African liquid fuels industry in three decades, and was an important step in the company’s ambition to become the next biggest fuel brand in South Africa.
He said 20 regional teams were working simultaneously across the country to rebrand the forecourts Astron Energy.
Some of the logistics data include an estimated 741 888 man hours on site, the installation of 1,3 million LEDs, the manufacturing of 27 soccer fields worth of orange and charcoal forecourt canopy cladding, and the use of 6 224 holding-down bolts for forecourt pylons.
The new brand also coincided with the introduction of a new fuel, Quartech four-in-one fuel, as well as a new rewards programme, in addition to participating in the existing UCount rewards programme.
Astron head of marketing Cambridge Mokanyane said global research shows all forecourts would ultimately migrate to “ultimate convenience”, offering everything from fuel to food options, banking facilities, online and e-commerce services, and drop boxes for collecting deliveries.
He said in customer engagement surveys, clean, fresh and safe bathroom facilities were right at the top of what consumers expect when pulling into a forecourt.
Questioned about any possible geographical expansion plans for the retail network, Booley said they would continue to open new service stations in line with demand, or where sufficient traffic volumes warrant it. – IOL News
There has been some speculation among industry commentators about when the refinery, which Glencore acquired with all of Chevron SA’s assets in 2019, and which has been offline since mid-2020 after a fire, may reopen.
Engen closed its Durban refinery after a fire in late 2020, Shell and BP have halted operations at their Sapref refinery, while Sasol has been considering the future of its Natref refinery it owns with Total.
Astron’s refinery has a crude oil capacity of 100 000 barrels, and produces petrol, diesel, jet fuel, marine oils, liquified gas, and other speciality products.
Booley said in South Africa, the company’s key objectives were a safe and successful restart of the refinery, and to start the roll-out of the new look across the network of over 850 service stations.
He said the rebrand from Caltex to Astron Energy was the most significant change in the South African liquid fuels industry in three decades, and was an important step in the company’s ambition to become the next biggest fuel brand in South Africa.
He said 20 regional teams were working simultaneously across the country to rebrand the forecourts Astron Energy.
Some of the logistics data include an estimated 741 888 man hours on site, the installation of 1,3 million LEDs, the manufacturing of 27 soccer fields worth of orange and charcoal forecourt canopy cladding, and the use of 6 224 holding-down bolts for forecourt pylons.
The new brand also coincided with the introduction of a new fuel, Quartech four-in-one fuel, as well as a new rewards programme, in addition to participating in the existing UCount rewards programme.
Astron head of marketing Cambridge Mokanyane said global research shows all forecourts would ultimately migrate to “ultimate convenience”, offering everything from fuel to food options, banking facilities, online and e-commerce services, and drop boxes for collecting deliveries.
He said in customer engagement surveys, clean, fresh and safe bathroom facilities were right at the top of what consumers expect when pulling into a forecourt.
Questioned about any possible geographical expansion plans for the retail network, Booley said they would continue to open new service stations in line with demand, or where sufficient traffic volumes warrant it.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
