The Managing Director/Chief Executive of one of the newly commissioned Heyden Oil outlets, Dapo Abiodun, has hailed the partial deregulation of the downstream oil sector by President Buhari, stating that efficiencies would now play a greater role in determining profitability.
“The deregulation by President Buhari is a great landmark. With the feat, it means that efficiency is what determines the margins. Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and Maikanti Baru, have said we are under retailed; in Victoria Island, there are only three fuel stations, and if there is a small tightness in the market, there will be queues everywhere. What NNPC did was to invest in retails by placing the most margins in retail,” he explained.
Abiodun said this at the commissioning of the newly acquired and re-branded 40 filling stations in addition to the 10 earlier acquired by the company, an investment costed at N10 billion. While admitting that the venture was expensive, Abiodun said that it still remained the easiest way of penetrating the market.
Abiodun also intimated Guardian Newspapers of plans by the company to further expand its business in the South West region by extending to Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Kwara, FCT Abuja and other parts of the country.
Heyden Petroleum says it has expanded its business presence in South West Nigeria, with current focus on Lagos and Ogun States. The investment, according to reports from Guardian Newspaper, involves the acquisition and rebranding of 40 filling station in addition to the 10 earlier acquired by the company.
According to the firm, the loan was facilitated by a consortium of Nigerian banks including Wema Access and UBA, and it hoped to repay it from the profits obtained from their operations.
Parts of this article originally appeared in Guardian Newspapers
