Burhan Al Hashemi, Managing Director of ENOC Retail, the specialized retail business of ENOC, and Abdulelah Saad Aldrees, Chief Executive Officer of Aldrees, shake hands after signing the deal Tuesday in Dubai. JEDDAH – Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Dubai's petroleum retailer with a significant footprint in lifestyle and consumer retailing, has signed a joint venture agreement with Aldrees Petroleum & Transport Services Company (Aldrees), one of Saudi Arabia's petroleum retailers and commodity hauling companies, to set up service stations in different locations across the Kingdom. Burhan Al Hashemi, Managing Director of ENOC Retail, the specialized retail business of ENOC, and Abdulelah Saad Aldrees, Chief Executive Officer of Aldrees, signed the agreement Tuesday in Dubai. Under the 50:50 joint venture, the service stations will feature all the specialized and popular brands operated by ENOC including ZOOM, Pronto, Super Lube and Super Wash. The first station under the partnership is expected to open early next year, followed by the progressive rollout of the rest in due course, the company said in a statement. One of the largest petroleum retail and commodity hauling companies in Saudi Arabia with a network of more than 450 petrol filling stations, Aldrees has a fleet of 1,032 tractor heads with 1,376 cargo carriers ranging from chemical/lubricant tankers, trailers, bulkers, to flat beds. The company serves a majority of the transport market and supply fuel to key accounts in both private and government sectors. Saeed Abdullah Khoory, ENOC's Chief Executive Officer, said: "ENOC is focused on expanding its business presence regionally and internationally, and Saudi Arabia is a strategic market that offers perfect market synergies for our growth. Over the past years, we have established our competencies in retail operations through our service stations which offer convenient options not only to motorists, but also to general consumers as well." "The addition of several lifestyle brands as well as specialized automobile-related retail services has further underlined our credentials in value-added offerings. We are honored to partner with Aldrees, a leader in petroleum retailing, to support the opening of service stations in the Kingdom and extend our capabilities in retail. This joint venture will also create new jobs for young Saudis and we will focus on strengthening their job competencies through our training programs, thus serving as an effective partner in the Kingdom's Vision," he added. Abdulelah Saad Aldrees of Aldrees said "with a network of more than 450 service stations in the Kingdom, Aldrees is an industry leader in petroleum retailing in Saudi Arabia. In line with our commitment to add value to our stakeholders, we are continuously exploring expansion opportunities that bring clear differentials to the market." – SG"ENOC has a tremendous breadth of retailing experience that is a perfect fit for our core strengths. We are confident that the joint venture will create a new history in petroleum retailing in the GCC region and offer enhanced services for the convenience of our customers. The stations will also be of immense value to travellers, especially during the Hajj season," Aldrees added. ENOC Retail will offer its full breadth of expertise in retailing to Aldrees in developing the service stations. In addition to showcasing a choice of fuel retailing products, the stations will also have other lifestyle choices such as restaurants, fresh food and coffee, and convenient automotive services. A number of environment-friendly products and services that are offered by ENOC, such as the waterless car wash and green lubricants, will also be made available at the stations in the Kingdom. Burhan Al Hashemi added: "The success of our retailing operations is led by a commitment to offer our customers value added and superior lifestyle experiences. In addition to operating convenience stores that meet the varied needs of our customers, we will continue to expand our portfolio of world-class cafes and dining concepts across the region. Our partnership with Aldrees marks a true milestone in the operations of ENOC Retail. This is a perfect example of two organizations drawing on their strengths to offer value to customers." - SGENOC Retail has established itself as a petroleum retailing leader in the UAE. Operating across a network of service stations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, ENOC Retail, over the years, has come to symbolize speed, convenience, service and value.With more than 70 million customer transactions annually, ENOC Retail, today, has over 4,000 employees who spearhead the retailing of fuel, petroleum products and an array of products and services, most of them targeted at the everyday requirements of motorists. The retail business also has many brands in the food & beverage sector, providing management services and franchising the brands across the Middle East and North Africa region.DUBAI - Emirates National Oil Co (Enoc) has teamed up with Saudi fuel retailer Aldrees to build at least 40 service stations in the kingdom, the companies said Tuesday, in a deal the Dubai-government owned retailer hopes can recover some of its losses at home. Convenience stores and car washes at Enoc forecourts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) go some way to alleviating the financial burden of selling fuel at the petrol pumps at well below the price Enoc pays for it on international markets. But the UAE market is not big enough to offset fuel sales losses which Enoc has said would exceed $730 million in 2011. So Enoc has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Aldrees Petroleum, which enjoys healthy sales margins thanks to plentiful cheap supplies from Saudi Aramco, to increase its revenues abroad. "We make good returns on the non-fuel business but it doesn't compensate for the losses that we have," Burhan Al Hashemi, managing director of Enoc Retail, told reporters at a signing ceremony in Dubai. "So that's why for the whole organization is to go outside and explore new markets." Enoc shut fuel pumps at its petrol stations in the northern emirate of Sharjah last year to limit losses from selling fuel at federally set prices well below its acquisition cost. The profitable Sharjah forecourt shops remained open, but the pump closures caused fuel shortages and long queues at remaining forecourts in Dubai's neighboring emirate. Although the retail prices of fuel at Saudi pumps are less than half those in the UAE, Enoc expects its partnership with one of Saudi Arabia's largest fuel retailers to be much more profitable. Abdulelah Saad Aldrees, the head of Aldrees Petroleum, said Aldrees buys 91 octane gasoline for SR0.36 a liter (less than 10 US cents) and sells it at SR0.45 (about 12 cents). It pays SR0.51 for 95 octane gasoline and sells it at SR0.60, he said. The higher octane gasoline costs about SR1.75 in the UAE. Aldrees operates more than 450 filling stations in Saudi Arabia, and the partners plan to build at least 40 more in the first phase the AED400 million investment plan. The first is expected to open next year. - SG
