Industry Analysis
Continued from page 7
Supply chains remain strong
A sustained or higher demand is one that
is being felt right across the UK but Kevin
McPartlan, CEO of the Irish Petroleum Industry
Association, moved to reassure consumers that
there will be no interruption in the supply of
petrol, diesel and home-heating oil in Ireland.
“The way we operate has to change to protect
our staff and our customers but the products
we supply will remain available throughout.
We will continue providing essential services:
heating Ireland’s homes, fuelling businesses
and keeping transport on the move. We are
asking everyone to follow the advice from the
HSE and relevant authorities.”
He expects that in the next couple of
months, the biggest challenges for the oil
industry will be “firstly, to protect our own
people, our staff, and the consumers and
secondly, to maintain supply in order to be
able to provide oil to all these people who are
staying at home”.
Refineries, as providers of essential
fuel, have revealed how they are continuing
to operate through the challenges of the
coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking late April UKPIA director-general
Stephen Marcos Jones, said, “From the outset
of the pandemic, UKPIA and our members
have worked closely with UK government and
other stakeholders to ensure an uninterrupted
supply of fuel to those who need it, including
the emergency services and essential workers
vital to tackling this health crisis.
With an unparalleled global fall in demand
for petroleum products, maintaining supply
logistics and adjusting that supply to reflect
considerable changes in product demand has
been a significant challenge, but individual
companies have worked tirelessly to make
sure that the fuels which are needed are being
delivered to those who need them. While
lockdown looks likely to continue for a while
yet, posing acute short- and medium-term
challenges to business operations, companies
are also having to consider the long-term
repercussions that COVID-19 will have on
our sector. As plans are put in place to ease
lockdown restrictions and demand begins to
increase, some companies are already turning
their thoughts to the different challenges that
recovery will bring and understanding whether
demand patterns or work practices will be very
different from before the crisis.”
Humber Refinery recognises its important role
in supplying fuels to keep the country moving
in this unprecedented and difficult time
and will continue to monitor developments,
remaining flexible in adapting to fulfil this role.
“The wellbeing of our staff and the safe
operations of the refinery are our top priorities
and our business continuity plan has been
activated to help us achieve this.
A spokesperson for Total Lindsay Oil
Refinery said; “To cope with the current
situation, Total Lindsey Oil Refinery has
implemented new operating rules, in line with
the recommendations of the health authorities
and the directives of the local authorities and
government.
Petroineos is keeping customers fully
informed as a spokesperson explained; “We are
having to change to meet the lower demand
environment but have done so safely and
successfully. We are running, intend to keep
manufacturing, meeting whatever demand
is in the market. A weekly update is sent out
to every one of our customers each Friday
which seems to be well received. We are also
keeping them well appraised with regard to
product availability, operating hours, etc. as
we understand the importance of keeping our
customers up to speed at this difficult time.”
Adaptation key at every link in the chain
Harvest Energy has adapted well to the
challenges posed by the current climate as
sales director Stephen Rhodes explains; “The
Team has performed really well and we are very
much operating our business as usual, taking
into account the change in demand especially
impacting our retail forecourts and some of our
commercial customers.
“Against this, we have experienced a surge
in demand for kerosene for domestic heating
use over the past month – a combination of
the lower oil price and families being based
at home driving demand. We suspect this
short-term demand is now beginning to reduce
as the product has moved downstream to
meet the end-consumer need. Gasoil has
also held up well – with farmers being more
active in terms of field preparation, given
the much improved weather as compared
to the wet winter months. Organisationally,
communication has been excellent with lots of
fixed and interactive calls in the weekly diary
keeping everyone in contact.”
Protecting people is the priority
Refineries adapting safely
Darren Cunningham, Humber Refinery general
manager and UK lead for Phillips 66, said; “The
Throughout the supply chain there is a clear
message that support and protection for both
customers and employees are at the forefront.
This is clear in Abbey Logistics’ response to
the COVID-19 pandemic with the company
announcing that it will pay frontline employees
a recognition payment at the end of the year,
as an acknowledgement of its staff’s hard work
and commitment during this time.
Abbey Logistics’ CEO Steve Granite said
“Our teams are working around the clock
to ensure products are produced and on
the shelves. We want to acknowledge the
dedication and commitment they are showing
and reassure them that if they need to self-
isolate, they will be supported while they stay
at home and recover.”
The scheme is aimed at drivers, wash bay,
planning and workshop teams, whose roles are
vital to the UK’s crucial supply chains.
Innovating to meet challenges
FTA is also doing its bit to aid social distancing.
Keith Gray, general manager of training,
audits and standards at FTA comments; “To
help logistics businesses keep their operations
running as smoothly as possible during this
difficult time, we are pleased to launch e-OLAT,
an online version of the Operator Licence
Awareness Training Course, delivered through a
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).”
The e-OLAT will form one of six training
courses now available to access online; FTA
has suspended temporarily all face-to-face
training events under government guidance.
An industry that will succeed
With the landscape changing day by day,
more business disruption is anticipated, but
for many fuel oil distributors it is business as
usual, maintaining their part in the supply
chain whilst also going above and beyond the
industry’s already stringent safety rules.
As Stephen Marcos Jones, UKPIA
commented; “Not only have downstream oil
companies and their supply chains kept Britain
moving during this crisis, but we’ve also seen
them making donations of vital PPE to our
NHS, free fuel and food schemes for critical
healthcare staff and tens of thousands of
pounds of donations to charities to support
the most vulnerable. At a time when the
whole country has come together to respond
to this virus, the downstream oil sector has
demonstrated its critical role when it has been
needed most.”
The ingenuity of the oil industry to
overcome such challenges has been tested
many times with it always proving more than
a match. With the reassurances given and
actions taken by the industry there is no reason
not to believe it will succeed once again.
Fuel Oil News | May 2020 9