The FINANCIAL — According to the Association of Oil Importers of Georgia, the leader in total sales of diesel and gasoline in 2007 is Socar Georgia Petroleum, owned by Azerbaijan State Oil Company SOCAR, which imported to Georgia 178, 660 Metric Tonnes (MT) of oil products.
The second largest company in diesel and gasoline import is Wissol Petroleum Georgia with 156, 626 MT. The company is the first in diesel import with 96,715 MT, 28.5% of total sales. Number three in total import of gasoline and diesel is Lukoil Georgia with sales of 101, 000 Metric Tonnes, but the company is second in gasoline import. Lukoil sold 80, 000 tonnes of gasoline in 2007, 20.5% of total sales.
The Leader in gasoline import is still Socar Georgia Petroleum, which imported 147 159 tonnes of petrol to Georgia. It made 38, 5% of total sales of 2007.
SOCAR is already constructing a network of fuel stations throughout Georgia. The company has also purchased the Nukoil chain which will become operational shortly after the rebranding process is over.
SOCAR is building 5 other fuel stations including one on the Rustavi highway, in the region near Tbilisi. The station will be the biggest in the company’s network and will have a hotel and a hypermarket nearby. The construction of such mega-stations is also planned for Batumi and Zestaponi.
SOCAR intends to invest USD 35 million in the project. This will enable the company to obtain 15% of the retail fuel market of Georgia. 40% of the wholesale market is already controlled by SOCAR.
According to Socar Georgia, company strategy is Investment and further development of the Oil and Gas industry in Georgia, Supply of the Georgian market with high quality oil products, Construction and operation of the chain of petrol stations in Georgia. Approximate outlook on the company’s revenue is USD 400 000 000 for 2008. Investments made up to this date including the Kulevi oil-terminal is USD 380 000 000. The company has paid GEL 88 412 038 to the state budget for the year of 2007.
In the import of bitumen in 2007 the leader is JSC Wissol Petroleum Georgia with 11, 684 Metric Tonnes of import and with the market share of 15,8%, according to the association of oil companies. Socar imported 4, 700 Metric Tonnes of bitumen with a market share of 8,4%. Lukoil bitumen import stands at 2, 500 Metric Tonnes with a 3,4% market share.
According to Wissol, consolidated sales revenue in 2007 was USD 196 million. “The sales of diesel and gasoline of Wissol amounted to 156,626 MT in 2007 with an increase of 40% versus 2006,” Rusudan Kbilashvili, Wissol PR Manager, told The FINANCIAL.
“Our intention is to make Wissol a fully diversified company rather than just a sole petrol filling station owner and operator. In 2007 we have already opened several CNG filling stations and made a strategic decision to further intensify works in this direction for the next year,” Kbilashvili said.
“In 2007 Wissol also acquired natural gas distribution companies in Marneuli and Telavi regions. The company captured the air fuel market as well with Air Wissol and made a solid investment in the New Tbilisi International Airport. In particular, most modern and technologically advanced hydrant system infrastructure was created on the territory of the airport with the aim to provide aircrafts with jet fuel using a special cascade of pipelines. In 2007 Wissol imported 5, 423 MT of Air fuel,” she added.
“Our company made over USD 15 million investments in 2007 and in the same year the company spent GEL 1 million on charity. In 2007 taxes paid by Wissol to the state budget were significantly increased. In 2006 Wissol paid GEL 43 million to the state budget whereas in 2007 we expect the figure to be as high as GEL 75 million, which is an impressive indicator,” Samson Pkhakadze, Chairman of Wissol Board of Directors and company shareholder, told The FINANCIAL.
In 2007 Wissol started importing Italian fuel from API. “The Wissol loyalty Pirveli Card for individual clients has been another success for the company. So far, over 25 000 Pirveli Cards have been released. Very soon Wissol will offer a technologically upgraded system of corporate chip based cards as well. The product was pioneered in 2001 to the Georgian market and since then Wissol released over 8 000 corporate cards,” says Nino Dgvepadze, Wissol Marketing Director.
Lukoil Georgia, number two in gasoline importing, takes third place in the total sales of diesel. According to the Association of Oil Importers, Lukoil Georgia sold 21 000 tonnes of diesel in 2007 and its share from total sales made 6, 5%.
According to preliminary results of Lukoil Georgia total sales in 2007 were USD 190,990,000. Net profit from the total sales of Lukoil Georgia in 2007 is around USD 1,580,000. Total sales are increased by 20-25% in comparison with 2006. Sales in Tbilisi made 60-65% of total revenues.
According to preliminary data the amount paid to the local budget by Lukoil Georgia is about GEL 60 million.
“No major changes have been made in Lukoil Georgia’s management in 2007,” according to Maia Chikvanaia Marketing and Sales Director of Lukoil Georgia.
“The most important achievements for the year 2007 are the implementation of the Corporate Plastic Card system and expansion of the Regular fuel segment. The Plastic Cards system is based on modern technologies and allows customers to enjoy full control of internal fuel consumption. Plastic cardholders can place orders for fuel without visiting the office and receive detailed reports for each card,” Chikvanaia told The FINANCIAL.
“We only import European fuel and are proud to be able to offer Euro IV standard fuel to our customers, which are supported by a variety of consumption control schemes,” she added.
According to the Association of Oil Importers, the second in total sales of diesel in Georgia is Socar Georgia Petroleum with 31 501 tonnes, a 10, 2% share. Rompetrol Georgia is the fourth major importer in 2007. This company sold 56 585 tonnes of petrol and 12 210 of diesel which makes 14, 2% of total sales of gasoline and 3, 8% of diesel. The last in total sales of top Georgian Oil Importers is Eko Georgia, which sold 15 853 tonnes of gasoline and 3 101 tonnes of diesel.
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