Development plans do not include fuel trade only, but also a chain of fuelling points and an online trading platform to be used by small clients mainly. The platform will launch in October at www.oilenergytrading.ro.
“They’ll be able to order oil products like they order a pair of shoes, 24/7 from their laptop, tablet or smartphone,” says Remus Hirceaga, the general manager of Oil Energy Trading.
The company gets oil products from local refineries or imports them and sells to such customers as ArcelorMittal Galati, Agricover and Daewoo Mangalia shipyard.
“We want to open a chain of fuelling points located in the Tiriac Auto network. We are looking at 15 such centers and the first gas station will be opened in December. The network will at first serve the group, whose consumption stands at about 4 million liters a year. It will also refuel the cars going to Tiriac Auto centers for repairs,” Hirceaga added.
The company started operations in 2012, when it sold about 8,000 tons of oil products, bitumen and special products it bought from local refineries Petrobrazi (OMV Petrom), Petromidia (Rompetrol) and from Gazprom or MOL. This year it expects to sell almost four times as much, about 30,000 tons.
“The business started in 2012 and we made our first delivery on April 13. There already was a solar power company inside Tiriac Energy (Blue Sand i.e.), and an energy company looking for a sustainable business has to include oil products in its portfolio,” the general manager of Oil Energy Trading explained.
Why would a customer the size of ArcelorMittal, Romania’s second largest power consumer, buy diesel oil from Oil Energy Trading instead of going straight to the refinery?
“I can contract directly more than a customer buys on its own hence the better price. In addition, I can also provide financing instruments.”
Hirceaga says this is an edge his company has on rivals Oscar Downstream and Unicom Holding.
“Beyond sales, one of our competitive edges is that we can come up with a full financing offer, since we are part of the Tiriac Group. We can make credit limits and payment terms available to our customers and provide letters of guarantee to our suppliers. Price is only the tip of the iceberg in oil trading. Financing and risk are the elements that best define the business,” Hirceaga says.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)