After getting where it is today through acquisitions and service portfolio diversification, MOL managed to shake the OMV Petrom, Rompetrol and Lukoil trio, becoming a top three player on a EUR10 billion market.
“We are among the top three on the market by volume of retail sales of fuel. The market has recognized our efforts. The market share we reached is definitely higher than the 15% we set out to a few years ago,” says Kinga Daradics, 35, country chairman of MOL Romania and the youngest chief executive in her industry.
Three companies have been the leaders of the oil market for years. The top company, Petrom, which owns a network of about 450 gas stations, is still hard to dislodge. Second leading fuel retailer, Rompetrol, has continued expansion and diversification efforts, while Russia’s Lukoil has not been very communicative lately and has not done much about developing and revamping services and station image. Therefore MOL most likely grabbed a slice of Lukoil’s market share.
MOL opened its first gas station in Romania in 1995, after which it bought out the local operations of much bigger oil companies, such as Shell and Italy’s ENI. With more than EUR200 million investments since its arrival in Romania, MOL says it is now a top three business but would not say which competitor it beat.
MOL Romania currently has 205 stations and saw an increase in retail sales volume by 16% to 311,000 tons in the first half. The overall market grew by some 5%.
“There are a number of factors that led to the growth in volume in the first half. On the one hand, there was the effect of the integration of the network acquired (ENI Romania, which had 42 Agip stations i.e.), and there are also things that have to do our operations, services and products introduced in stations (…)”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)