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Asif Iqbal
Doha
Qatar Fuel (Woqod), which currently has 56 gasoline stations in operation in the country, plans to open another 15 new gasoline stations this year and is also in talks with the government to get approval for 40 more additional land plots, the company's CEO Ibrahim Jaham al Kuwari has said.
"Out of the 15 planned new gasoline stations, 10 are in construction stage while the remaining five are in the tendering stage," Kuwari told reporters on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Sunday.
He said the company would like to open more fuel stations subject to getting land allotment from the government.
The 15 new gasoline stations are in par with the company's aim to have a total of 100 gasoline stations in the country by 2020, Ibrahim said, adding that the vision of the company is to become the region's"leading petroleum products and related services marketing company".
Giving details about the 15 new fuel stations, the Woqod CEO said four of them will be having facility for vehicle inspection (Fahes) and these stations will be spread throughout the country.
"The new stations will cater to the needs of the areas with a growing population and will be spread across the country."
He said all these stations will have the facility to refill vehicles from both sides as it is the standard policy of the company now.
On being asked about the proposed lubricant plant, Kuwari said the company is in negotiation with a local partner for a joint venture to establish a lubricant company.
He said the company is in the final stages of talks for this venture and all relevant details are being studied by the retail department of the company.
Woqod currently sells a wide range of lubricants under different brand names such as Ghaf for gasoline engine oils, and Qorm for diesel engine oils, which are blended by other companies for Woqod.
Its lubricants range from full synthetic, semi synthetic and mineral engine oils for cars, trucks and off-road equipments. In addition to engine oils, it also sells gear oils, coolants, brake fluids, industrial oils, including hydraulic fluids, and greases.
Later, addressing shareholders at the AGM , Chairman Saoud bin Abdulrahman al Thani said despite the difficulties in 2016, the company's management is keen to realise its future expansion plans.
In addition to the projects that have been completed last year, new stations are nearing completion, and are awaiting final approval to launch operations this year.
Meanwhile, the annual report of Woqod said that natural gas sales rose by 45 percent in 2016 and that the company plans to expand the use of compressed natural gas, especially for the transportation sector, by establishing new plants in the coming period.
"This will be done with the technical cooperation of Qatar Petroleum, the supplier of natural gas in Qatar," the annual report added.
