NOCK unveils a new strategy as it expands its retail footprint

NOCK unveils a new strategy as it expands its retail footprint

By Macharia Kamau

Oil Marketer, National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) has launched a new model mini petrol station in Nairobi as it embarks on the expansion of its retail outlet footprint in the country.

The new model station costs Sh30 million to put up, compared to the traditional petrol stations that costs upward of Sh90 million to put up.

The mini station will have primary functions of a filling station — that is refuelling, sell of lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)— but will not have the additional services available in fully-fledged stations like service bays, mini supermarkets, and even restaurants.

The state run oil marketer launched the first of such stations on Wednesday in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, and plans to have another 11 operational by the third quarter of this year.

Currently, the marketer has about 70 retail outlets and the new ‘budget’ filling stations will push its network to slightly under 100 by end of this year.

NOCK is the sixth largest marketer in the country with seven per cent market share. With the expansion and opening up of new retail outlets, it expects to have a market share of over 10 per cent by early 2012.

"Traditional petrol stations are capital intensive and we are looking at economical ones to increase out foothold," said Sumayya Athmani, managing director of NOCK.

Reasonable rates

"We will use this model to increase our presence across the country and we will be unveiling more petrol stations in the coming months."

She said the model will be reciprocated along highway, and the oil marketer will only put up fully fledged petrol stations in county headquarters.

The development came as independent oil marketers hit out at multinational oil marketers operating in the country, accusing them of causing the fuel shortage experienced last week.

Major oil marketing companies had earlier accused small marketers — which are mostly locally owned — of clogging the storage system, arguing that because of the few retail outlets that each has, they cannot evacuate products fast enough. The majors went on to term them as brief case companies. The independents however say it is the majors that have caused chaos in the past, and should take blame for the shortage of super petrol last week.

"We know very well that last week, the fuel shortage that affected Nairobi and its environs was not felt in rural Kenya, which is largely served by independents," said former Parliamentarian, Billow Kerrow, who is an independent oil marketer.

"The perception that independent marketers are brief case companies is a wrong one being created by oil marketers to discredit certain players."

He said the current structuring of the industry, including ullage allocation, is skewed in favour of oil majors, a factor that has stifled the growth of indigenous marketers.

There are 52 registered marketers in the country, about 45 of which are independent, some running as little as one filling station.