Adnoc to open 42 new petrol stations

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is to open 42 petrol stations across the country next year to keep up with rising demand, especially in new residential areas and the Northern Emirates.
Most will be in Abu Dhabi, with 20 in the city, four in Al Ain and five in the Western Region. The Northern Emirates will get 13 new stations – six in Sharjah, three in Fujairah, two in Ras Al Khaimah and one in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain – to ease fuel shortages.
Opening these stations is part of the company´s strategic plan to expand petrol stations and services in a way that keeps pace with demographic growth and the urbanization boom in the country, and to meet the rising demand of customers across the nation, Abdullah Al Dhaheri, general manager of Adnoc Distribution, told Al Ittihad, The National´s Arabic-language sister paper.
Over the past two years, the company has opened 31 stations across the country, seven of which were in the Northern Emirates. Fuel problems in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates date back to 2011 when the Enoc group, which owns the Enoc and Eppco stations, stopped supplying petrol to the area. The Sharjah Government issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Enoc to resume refuelling or close down all its stations. The ultimatum was not met and the pumps were closed.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, intervened and ordered Adnoc to take action. The company has since increased its supply to the Northern Emirates by building more stations.
There were suggestions that Adnoc would take over the old Eppco and Enoc stations, but officials from the Enoc group denied this.
Adnoc is also due to open 12 other stations by the end of this year, eight of which will be in Abu Dhabi, two in Al Gharbia and two in Sharjah. In the first half of this year, the company opened four stations in Abu Dhabi and one in Al Gharbia, and one Autoserv centre for vehicle maintenance.
(June 28, 2013)