Shell plans to double number of filling stations in Russia by 2015

Russia’s non-governmental news agency Interfax said that according to a source from the retail fuel market in Moscow, Shell is planning to double its number of filling stations in Russia by 2015. LLC Shell Oil, a subsidiary of Shell, builds and operates filling stations in Russia and owns 75 filling stations. The source said that the number could reach 150 by 2015, because Shell is interested in acquiring existing filling stations or land plots in Moscow and the region surrounding it, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad region. Although Shell refused to make a comment, it has posted an announcement in its website stating its interest in acquiring filling stations. Another source said that the French company Total will stick to its plan of opening three or four filling stations in Moscow as a means to promote the company brand. Experts predict that during the New Year holidays, the price of Al-95 gasoline in Moscow could reach 30 rubles (US$0.96) a liter. (November 29, 2011)