Journal articles on the topic 'Retail petroleum markets'

In the following paper, the grid parity is defined as the point of which the retail price of electricity is at least the same as the cost of generation (which is a mix of different generation sources: nuclear, natural gas, coal, petroleum, hydro, wind, photovoltaic, and more). This cost is levelized though a studied formula which considers various cost parameters. The grid parity depends on the photovoltaic (PV) system cost, the interest rate, and the retail cost of the electricity, so there are some variables that when combined can help researchers understand how far a system is from achieving grid parity. This study will consider some vigorous surveys to clarify which the parameters affect the results.

Subject area Retailing. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and Master's level business and management courses. Case overview This case looks at the second largest oil company in India (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)) and examines an innovative services marketing concept that they introduced into the market in India for the first time, namely, one-stop truck shops. These new format truck-stops were targeted at the highway-based truckers in India who earlier had to stop off at multiple locations to eat and re-fuel increasing their on-road time and reducing their efficiency, much to the chagrin of their truck-fleet owners. Expected learning outcomes Students will be expected to build their knowledge of retailing in developing markets using the example of BPCL as a learning tool. The case examines differences in consumer behavior in developed vs developing markets, paying particular attention to the required need to differentiate the retail approach to suit the market. Supplementary materials Teaching note (with photographs).

Energy-related CO2 emissions have reached record levels. Such negative trends require intensification of the use of various instruments, economic in particular, which will reduce the negative impact on the ecology , scientific and technological progress and population growth on the planet Earth. One of the most effective and easiest instruments to apply is the excise tax on fuel. In most EU countries, gasoline is subject to an excise tax at rates that are 20-25% higher than the tax rate on diesel fuel. A similar situation is observed in Ukraine. At the same time, it should be noted that excise tax rates in the EU are 3-4 times higher than the rates applied in Ukraine. The world markets are experiencing a collapse in oil prices, as well as gasoline and diesel fuel. The decline in demand is due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 distribution flow policy. Domestic and international travel is reduced, business and other forms of socio-economic activity are transferred to remote work via the Internet. However, in Ukraine, retail fuel prices remain at the same level. Consequently, producers make profits by taking advantage of changing supply and demand in the relevant markets. Lower excise tax rates in Ukraine compared to the EU, as well as falling world oil prices provide grounds for a gradual increase in excise tax rates on gasoline and diesel fuel in Ukraine. Every 10 Euro increase in the tax rate, other things being equal, will attract UAH 500-600 million to the budget of additional income, increasing the sale price of fuel by 1%. To this end, it is advisable to develop a schedule of such increase, which should be agreed with the main payers of the excise tax on petroleum products (producers and importers), which should be approved in the form of a memorandum or special agreement

This work aims to proceed with the evaluation of relationship between retail market and distribution in liquefied petroleum gas range (LPG), according to Network Theory. This is an exploratory research, with qualitative characteristic, about the dynamics of cooperation relations. The results, although could not be considered as conclusive, by reason of the study of only one case, shows that an alliance with relationship problems and competition, between point-of-sale and resale, probably will be dissolved as soon as the retailer become a reseller.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) 3 kg is subsidized fuel circulated by Pertamina Corporation. The objective of this research was to analyze the supply chain, the selling margin among distribution agencies, and the transaction cost in the market supply chain of LPG 3 kg in Yogyakarta. The research used primary data such as interview and observation. The data was analyzed with qualitative descrptive analysis. The result of this research show two LPG 3 kg supply chain in Yogyakarta which are Pertamina – Agent – Base Seller – Retailer – Shop Seller – Cosumer and Pertamina – Agent – Base Seller – Retailer – Small and Medium Enterprises. The highest marketing margin obtained by retailers are Rp. 2942/ gas tube in the first supply chain and second supply chain. The hihgest transaction cost is managerial transaction cost is first supply chain and second supply chain which equals to 62,56 percent and 61,97 percent. Followed by 31,26 percent of market transaction cost in the first supply chain and 31,75 percent in the second supply chain. The lowest transaction costs are 6,13 percent of political transaction cost in the first supply chain and 6,26 percent of political transaction cost in the second supply chain. Therefore, the solution to this problem is a review of the highest retail price for LPG 3 kg in Yogyakarta so it could be relevant for agents who experienced the highest transaction cost.

In this study a multiagent model of behaviour of the dispersion of retail prices for petroleum products has been developed, depending on changes of external factors, in particular, sharp changes in wholesale prices. Therefore, there is a need for a model that would not only have the potential to test the existence of a price dispersion as a consequence of the specifics of competition in the market of petroleum products and consumer search strategies, but would have the ability to quantify the price variance as a consequence of the behaviour of individual market agents. The basis of the behaviour of market agents of this model is algorithms of price oligopolistic competition from traders and user price search strategies. Calibration models and verification of historical data of the Kyiv region, where they were previously established empirical data on the dispersion of prices showed a fairly good correspondence between the model and the actual data. In particular, the existence of a price pattern has been established at jump-like changes of wholesale prices. The presence of price strategy of buyers, which are based on the strategy of the base price, is shown. The coincidence of model and real data still needs to be improved.

The paper presents the research report studied at the largest natural gas producer and the petroleum retail market leader in Malaysia. The study is to understand the logistics performance measurement in the supply chain, including the theoretical discussion on data collected and logistic performance of a real organization using the balanced scorecard. Besides that, the study will also access the performance of the company and followed by identifying the problems and provides recommendations for improvements.

Since the formation of Bitcoin in 2009, various private digital currencies have been presented. Bitcoin is by a long shot the best one. It has been getting a great deal of media consideration, and its all out market worth has arrived at 20 billions USD in March 2017. More importantly, a number of central banks started recently to explore the adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies for retail and large-value payments. Bitcoin is a digital currency based on a peer-topeer payment system managed by an open source software and characterized by lower transaction costs, greater security and scalability than fiat money and no need of a central bank. In spite of criticisms about illegal uses and social consequences, it is attracting the interest of the scientific as well as economic community. Be that as it may, notwithstanding Bitcoin’s worth, the paper clarified, physical stores have been delayed to acknowledge it as a technique for installment. Subsequently, a few lookers are getting to be critical about whether this tech-trendy person digital money, which everybody has known about however the vast majority don’t genuinely comprehend, will ever supplant conventional cash. Only one exchange can use as much vitality as a whole family unit does in seven days, and there are around 300,000 exchanges each day. That vitality request is usually met through petroleum product vitality sources, which, alongside contaminating air and water, radiate ozone harming substances that reason environmental change. At the end of the day, Bitcoins are adding to the warming of the climate without giving a noteworthy open advantage consequently. Some Bitcoin lovers guarantee that it will in the long run become a standard money, and that the cryptogovernance framework whereupon it’s manufactured could really support the earth. In any case, the Bitcoin market is unstable, its future dinky. Off-the-rack PCs used to be incredible enough to mine Bitcoins. Presently, on the grounds that the math issues are so perplexing, they should utilize particular equipment called Application Specific Integrated Circuit, or ASIC. These mining machines are huge and run hot, and the individuals who use them—either Bitcoin mining organizations or Bitcoin devotees cooperating—utilize a great deal of power to do as such. Organizations and associations that mine bitcoin will once in a while have a huge number of these machines pressed into far reaching distribution centers. Hence, the present study is an attempt to define and evaluate the current trends of the literature concerned with the sustainability of bitcoin, considering the environmental impacts and economic aspects. The study is divided into four parts – first part explains the concept of bitcoin in detail with its history. The second part of the study details the statement of the problem. The third part deals with results and discussions and the last is the concluding part. In the results and discussion part, the data dealing with trends in the value of bitcoin in USD and in Indian markets are exhibited. The main exchanges dealing with bitcoin in India are then given and the number of bitcoins available and their market capitalisation worldwide is shown. From the analysis, it is very clear that the value of bitcoin has tremendously increased over the period of time. One of the main allegations against the bitcoin trading is its fluctuating volatility depicted. It’s because of this issue, that bitcoins are considered to be very dangerous commodity to be traded. Also, form the point of sustainability, it emerges that the transition of the whole monetary system in the new cryptocurrency will result in an unacceptable amount of energy consumed to mine new bitcoins and to maintain the entire virtual monetary system, and probably bitcoin will remain a niche currency.

This article analyzes the energy identity crisis in some oil-producing countries. It highlights that the retail price for gasoline in countries such as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen was at or below the cost on the world market of the petroleum needed to produce it. However, Egypt went from an exporter of more than 300,000 barrels of oil a day in 1999 to a net importer beginning in 2009. And as a consequence, the prices for gasoline in Egypt went from below the raw material cost in 2006 to being comparable to those in the United States. Tunisia shifted from an exporter to an importer in 2000. Thanks to strong consumption growth, Bahrain has also seen its exports plummet from more than 30,000 barrels a day in the 1990s to around 3500 today. The Saudi consumption curve is climbing at about 4% per year, and unless the country can raise production above 11 million barrels a day, its exports will disappear by 2050.

Oil prices have exhibited considerable volatility over the past five or ten years and the management of oil price risk has become an important factor in underpinning the viability of many oil producing operations from both a lender's and investor's perspective. Various oil based hedging products are now available to protect against such volatility, ranging from products which fix forward prices to option based arrangements which set a floor price but retain some (or all) of the potential upside. These products have particular relevance for petroleum companies with limited financial resources or who are looking to limit recourse to particular assets/cashflows.There are a number of techniques which can be successfully combined to mitigate oil price volatility and the most relevant of these to a producer are discussed. The recent development of the Tapis swap and option markets, which have provided flexibility to Australasian producers, is also discussed.Oil based financial products can also be used as a method of funding (say for a development or acquisition) as an alternative to traditional cash based borrowing structures, thus creating a natural hedge against oil price movements. The use of such structures, coupled with a well structured revenue hedging program, can enhance a project's attractiveness from a lender's perspective (particularly with respect to protection against downside movements in oil price) and/or provide greater certainty of returns to producers.A case study of a recent commodity risk management based financing is presented which highlights many of the points discussed.

Nowadays, current global environmental problems include measures to eliminate or reduce the negative impact of chemicals from petroleum sources and, therefore, the use of materials from natural resources is increasingly recommended. In this context, natural-based superabsorbent polymers derived from polypeptides and polysaccharides have undergone chemical and biochemical modifications to improve their ability to absorb and retain large amounts of liquids. In the present paper, a new process has been used to overcome the side effects of radical polymerization in the manufacture of conventional polyacrylate superabsorbents (SAPs). Tragacanth gum (TG) was selected to prepare a new superabsorbent material (CMTG-GA) based on carboxymethyl tragacanth (CMTG) crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA). The characterization of the polymer was carried out by FTIR, TGA, XRD, and SEM. The effect of the amount of crosslinking agent and the pH on the water absorption capacity was also examined. Subsequently, swelling studies were performed using free swelling capacity (FSC) and centrifuge retention capacity (CRC) techniques in distilled water, tap water, and saline solution. The results showed that the CRC of the new material is not less than 42.1 g/g, which was observed for a ratio of 20% by weight of GA to CMTG. Likewise, the maximum absorption results were 43.9 and 32.14 g/g, respectively, for FSC and CRC at pH 8.0. In addition, a comparison of the swelling capacities of the synthesized product with a commercial SAP extracted from a baby diaper, well known in the Moroccan market, showed that the performances were very similar.

The need for new non-animal and non-petroleum-based materials is strongly emphasized in the sustainable and green economy. Waste materials have proven a valuable resource in this regard. In fact, there have been quite a large number of goods obtained from wastes called “Vegan leather” that have gained the clothing market’s attention in recent years. In practice, they are mostly composites of waste materials like cactus, pineapples, or, eventually, apples with polymers like polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride. The article presents the results of work aimed at obtaining a material based entirely on natural, biodegradable raw materials. Bacterial cellulose produced as a byproduct of the fermentation carried out by SCOBY was modified with glycerol and then altered by the entrapment of apple powder. The effect of introducing apple powder into the SCOBY culture media on the mechanical properties of the obtained bacterial cellulose was also evaluated The resulting material acquired new mechanical characteristics that are advantageous in terms of strength. Microscopic observation of the apple powder layer showed that the coverage was uniform. Different amounts of apple powder were used to cover the cellulose surface from 10 to 60%, and it was found that the variant with 40% of this powder was the most favorable in terms of mechanical strength. Also, the application of the created material as a card folder showed that it is durable in use and retains its functional characteristics for at least 1 month. The mechanical properties of modified bacterial cellulose were favorably affected by the entrapment of apple powder on its surface, and as a result, a novel material with functional characteristics was obtained.

In Vietnam, among 10 biggest economic groups (SEGs), four representatives, which are Viettel, Mobifone (belonged to VNPT in the period 1994-2016), Bao Viet Insurance (belonging to Bao Viet Group), Petroleum Insurance (belonging to PVN Group), have been ranked in the top list of 100 most desired employers in the market by Anphabe. This means that the working environment at the parent company or some subsidiaries of these four groups retains good employees and constantly attracts new talents to join. However, with the great potential and incentives on resources received from the Government, the business performance indicators of those State Economic Groups are not really commensurate. The root of the problem lies in the motivation of the workers. Also, the picture of corporate social responsibility is also much more energetic when the business situation of the groups becomes positive. When international partners and importers require Vietnamese enterprises to comply with global standards on occupational safety, worker health care, and environmental protection, Vietnamese enterprises will have stronger motivation to change and improve their performance, which means increased competitive advantage in the globally integrated environment. Therefore, this paper focuses on the relationship between CSR and the process of motivating employees to suggest new and more groundbreaking research directions on this issue in the future. This study is one of very few studies which have examined the potential relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Motivation, with a look from the inside of the company towards the outside connection with society, communities and the customers. The effects can be imposed in back-and-forth directions between CSR and Employee Motivation activities of the company.

Generally, only a few especially acrylic monomers have photoabsorption characteristics to allow for effective stereolithography (STL) to take place. Biomaterial product from palm oil, Acrylated Palm Olein (APO), is seen as an ideal alternative to petroleum-based polymers due the diminishing petrochemical supply and abundant of the natural polymer in the market. In this study, APO as a biopolymer is introduced to synthetic polymers Polyethylene Glycol Dimethylacrylate (PEGDMA) and Polyethylene Glycol Diacrylate (PEGDA), separately. All three polymers offer photoabsorption characteristics that enable them to be the resins for ultraviolet (UV) 3D printing. The crosslinking of both copolymers is optimized by comparing two different UV radiation techniques; UV cured machine and UV STL 3D printer. The degree of crosslinking for both APO-co-PEGDMA and APO-co-PEGDA through gel fraction analysis are studied and compared with their prepolymer resins. As predicted, the maximum degree of crosslinking of APO-co-PEGDMA and APO-co-PEGDA samples are achieved from the fabrication of samples by 3D printing and recorded at 67.50% and 59.50% respectively, comparing to the samples cured by UV cure machine, which recorded maximum crosslinking percentage at only 21.31%. Further analysis is done using swelling test to study water absorption capacities of copolymers and results shows that APO-co-PEGDMA able to retain water at maximum of 42.47% and APO-co-PEGDA at 52.02% from the 3D printed samples, and recorded lowest readings at 22.82% and 25.56% respectively. UV cured samples are recorded to have lowest readings at 3.89% for APO-co-PEGDMA, and 4.23% for APO-co-PEGDA. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy confirmed the successful crosslinked of the copolymers. Analysis of FTIR shows that there are presence of new peaks and shifting of peaks, indicating that APO is crosslinked with PEGDMA backbone as well as PEGDA backbone. These also suggest that both polymers are suitable to be incorporated with APO as new photopolymer resins, fabricated using UV radiation crosslinking, with PEGDMA shown a slightly better result. All results are agreeable with FTIR results.

Valaris Adds Fresh Rig Contracts to Backlog Valaris has scooped a number of new contracts and contract extensions, adding an associated $466 million to its contract backlog. The company received a 540-day contract with Equinor offshore Brazil for use of drillship Valaris DS-17. The rig will be reactivated for this contract, which is expected to begin in mid-2023. The total contract value is around $327 million, including an upfront payment totaling $86 million for mobilization costs, a contribution toward reactivation costs, and capital upgrades. The remaining contract value relates to the operating day rate and additional services. Also in Brazil, Valaris received a contract extension with TotalEnergies EP Brasil offshore Brazil for the use of drillship Valaris DS-15. The option is in direct continuation of the current firm program. “We are particularly pleased to have been awarded another contract for one of our preservation stacked drillships, Valaris DS-17, and look forward to partnering with Equinor on their flagship Bacalhau project in Brazil,” said Valaris Chief Executive Anton Dibowitz. “We expect Brazil to be a significant growth market for high-specification floaters over the next several years, and we are well positioned to benefit by now adding a third rig to this strategic basin.” The contractor also was awarded a two-well contract extension with Woodside offshore Australia for semisubmersible Valaris DPS-1. The two-well extension has an estimated duration of 38 days and will be in direct continuation of the existing firm program for Woodside’s Enfield plug-and-abandonment (P&A) campaign. The P&A work covers 18 wells in total. Woodside also awarded Valaris a separate one-well extension for the rig. The work has an estimated duration of 60 days with Woodside’s Scarborough development campaign. Elsewhere, Shell awarded a 4-year contract for heavy-duty modern jackup Valaris 115 offshore Brunei. The $159-million contract is expected to begin in April 2023. The contract was also awarded various short-term deals for jackups with Shell in the UK, an undisclosed operator in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Cantium in the GOM, and GB Energy offshore Australia. Shell Joins Equinor in GOM Sparta Development Shell has agreed to purchase 51% of Equinor’s interest in the North Platte deepwater development project in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Equinor will retain 49% interest in the project, and Shell will become the new operator of the field. The new partners also have agreed to rename North Platte to Sparta. Sparta straddles four blocks of the Garden Banks area, 275 km off the coast of Louisiana in approximately 1300 m of water depth. Front-end engineering and design has been matured for the project. Equinor and Shell will review the work that has been completed and update the development plan. Shell said that Sparta aligns with its strategy to pursue upstream investments that can remain competitive over time, both from a financial and environmental-intensity perspective. North Platte was discovered by Cobalt Energy and Total in 2012. The partners said the Wilcox-aged discovery would require 20K-psi technology to develop. Cobalt went bankrupt in 2017 and its stake in the asset was sold to Equinor and Total. In early 2022, TotalEnergies walked away from the project and its operatorship to focus on other projects, leaving Equinor with 100% interest. BP Awarded King Mariout Block in Egypt’s West Med BP has been awarded the King Mariout exploration block offshore Egypt following its participation last year in the limited bid round organized by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. The King Mariout Offshore area is located 20 km west of the Raven field in the Mediterranean Sea and covers 2600 km2 with water depths ranging between 500 and 2100 m. The block is within the West Nile Delta area, for which material gas discoveries could be developed using existing infrastructure. BP holds a 100% stake in the block. BP is a major player in Egypt investing more than $35 billion in the area over the past 60 years. LLOG Begins Production From Spruance in GOM LLOG has kicked off production from its operated Spruance Field located in Ewing Bank Blocks 877 and 921 in the US GOM. The two-well subsea development is producing, in combination, approximately 16,000 B/D of oil and 13 MMcf/D via a 14-mile subsea tieback to the EnVen-operated Lobster platform in nearby Block 873. The Spruance Field was initially discovered by LLOG and its partners in mid-2019 via a subsalt exploratory well, the Ewing Bank 877 #1, which was drilled in 1,570 ft to a total depth of 17,000 ft and logged around 150 net ft of oil pay in multiple high-quality Miocene sands. A second well, the Ewing Bank 921 #1, was drilled from the same surface location as the discovery well to a total depth of 16,600 ft in early October 2020. The well delineated the main field pays and logged additional oil pay in the exploratory portion of the well, finding a total of more than 200 net ft of oil. LLOG is the operator of the Spruance Field and owns a 22.64% working interest with partners Ridgewood Energy (23.89%), EnVen (13.5%), Beacon Asset Holdings (11.61%), Houston Energy (11.2%), Red Willow (11.15%), and CL&F (6%). Egypt Signs Agreement With Chevron To Drill First Exploration Well in East Med Chevron is planning to drill the first exploration well in its concession area in the Eastern Mediterranean this September. The well plans come as Egyptian Natural Gas Holding signed a memorandum of understanding with the US-based producer to cooperate in transporting, importing, and exporting natural gas from the area. Chevron expanded its presence in the area following its $5-billion acquisition of Noble Energy in 2020. The two companies will evaluate options for natural gas transmission from the East Mediterranean to Egypt to optimize its value through liquefaction before re-exporting and selling it, according to the memorandum. In addition, the two firms will perform research on low-carbon natural gas. APA Suriname Campaign Offers Mixed Results APA Corporation successfully flow tested its Krabdagu exploration well (KBD-1) on Block 58 offshore Suriname, while its Rasper exploration well on Block 53 offered disappointing results. Flow-test data collected in the two lower intervals, the Upper Campanian (32 m of net oil pay) and Lower Campanian (32 m of net oil pay), indicate oil-in-place resources of approximately 100 million bbl and 80 million bbl, respectively, connected to the KBD-1 well. Appraisal drilling will be necessary to confirm additional resource and development-well locations, according to APA. The exploration well encountered another high-quality interval in the Upper Campanian that was not in a location suitable for flow testing. This shallower Campanian zone will need to be flow tested in the appraisal stage from a better location. The APA-TotalEnergies joint venture is currently drilling the Dikkop exploration well in the central portion of Block 58 with drilling rig Maersk Valiant. Following completion of operations at Dikkop, the rig is expected to continue exploration and appraisal activities in the central portion of Block 58. APA Suriname and operator TotalEnergies each hold a 50% working interest in the block. Meanwhile, APA’s Rasper well in Block 53 off Suriname encountered water-bearing reservoirs in the Campanian and Santonian intervals. The Noble Gerry de Souza drillship has been mobilized to the next exploration prospect, Baja, in the southwestern corner of Block 53. Baja lies 11 km northeast of the recently announced Block 58 discovery at Krabdagu and will test Maastrichtian and Campanian targets. APA Suriname, the operator, holds a 45% working interest in the block, Petronas holds a 30% working interest, and CEPSA a 25% working interest. Novatek JV Wins North Yarudeyskoye License Novatek’s Yargeo joint venture has won the license to survey, explore, and develop production at the North Yarudeyskoye oil and gas condensate field over the next 27 years. The license area is in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region in the Arctic, Russia’s principal gas-producing area. North Yarudeyskoye holds an estimated hydrocarbon resource potential of 93.5 million BOE. The greater Yarudeyskoye field began producing in 2015 and by 2017 was responsible for nearly a third of Novatek’s liquids production. The company, Russia’s largest private natural gas producer, noted that it had participated in the recent auction to explore and develop North Yarudeyskoye through Gazprom Bank’s Electronic Trading Platform and that the win was Novatek’s first on that platform. PDC Energy Gets Green Light for Kenosha, Broe Developments The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved PDC Energy’s Kenosha and Broe developments’ permit applications. The Kenosha development, which encompasses 69 wells on three pads in rural Weld County, Colorado, further increases PDC’s permitted inventory by another rig year and solidifies drilling and completion activity well into 2024. The Broe permit encompasses 30 wells in rural Weld County. The Broe plan was initiated by Great Western Petroleum, which was acquired by PDC in May 2022 and represents PDC’s first development plan approval on Great Western acreage. Combined with the Kenosha plan approval, PDC added 99 new wells to its inventory in June and will soon have more than 675 permits and drilled and uncompleted wells. Both fields are in the greater Wattenberg area. The new permits add to an already-established multiyear inventory of projects in the DJ Basin. Kenosha is the second oil and gas development plan to be approved, and the company anticipates further approvals with its Guanella area plan and others. PDC’s operations in the Wattenberg field are focused in the horizontal Niobrara and Codell plays. The Wattenberg represents PDC Energy’s largest asset with more than 85% of its 2021 production and 90% of its year-end 2021 proved reserves.

Cucumbers found in retail markets are often waxed to improve visual appeal and retard moisture loss. This waxing may affect bacterial survival and the waxing process may facilitate cross-contamination between cucumbers. This study assessed survival of Salmonella on waxed and un-waxed cucumbers and the potential for Salmonella cross-contamination during the waxing process. Fresh waxed or un-waxed cucumbers were spot-inoculated with a Salmonella enterica cocktail. Three different wax coatings (mineral oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum wax) were manually applied to un-waxed cucumbers using polyethylene brushes. Salmonella transfer from inoculated cucumbers to brush or to un-inoculated cucumbers was quantified. Higher Salmonella concentrations were observed on waxed cucumbers during the first 3 days of storage but the final concentration on un-waxed cucumbers was higher than on waxed cucumbers at the end of storage, regardless of storage temperature. Wax formulation did affect survival of Salmonella inoculated directly into waxes, with the significant decline in Salmonella populations observed in vegetable-based wax coating, but with populations unchanged over 7 days at 7 or 21 °C in mineral oil-based and petroleum-based waxes. Salmonella cells could transfer from inoculated un-waxed cucumbers to brushes used for waxing and then to un-inoculated cucumbers during waxing. Significantly higher log percent transfer to brushes was observed when cucumbers were waxed with vegetable oil (0.71 log percent, P = 0.00441) vs. mineral oil (0.06 log percent) or petroleum (0.05 log percent). Transfer to un-inoculated cucumbers via brushes was also quantified (0.18 to 0.35 log percent transfer). Salmonella remaining on contaminated cucumbers after waxing could be detected for up to 7 days, and Salmonella survived better on cucumbers treated with a petroleum-based wax. These findings should be useful in managing risk of Salmonella contamination in cucumbers during post-harvest handling.

The downstream petroleum sector is a key contributor to the Gambian economy with the absence of upstream petroleum exploration. The growth of the industry is highly dependent on ensuring that imported refinery petroleum products are distributed consistently and timely to consumers through an effective and efficient supply chain system as well as adopting innovative marketing programs. This is the ideal situation yearned for by stakeholders of the sector. To this effect, this research aims to explore the perspectives of retail petroleum marketing as well as challenges of petroleum import, storage and sales in the Gambia’s downstream petroleum sector. A qualitative method was adopted for the study through in-depth interviews in a semi-questionnaire format. The study discovered that OMCs downstream marketing strategies, programs and activities shifted from undifferentiated commodity imported refinery products marketing (old/previous marketing scenario) to branded value added services differentiated petroleum products (present marketing scenario) marketing owing to increase in both downstream energy market liberalization and market competition. The study also revealed that industry players face many challenges ranging from inadequate legislation, government interference, limited fuel terminal tanks, supply chain and other operational difficulties, high import duties and lack of subsidy on imported petroleum products. The study recommends that OMCs should develop and implement marketing strategies, programs and activities in line with product differentiation, branding and value added services. This research equally recommend that the stakeholders in the industry should work on the amendments of downstream petroleum legislation, expand the fuel terminal tank storage facility, adopt and enforce national downstream petroleum quality standard in the daily operations and work towards realizing full deregulation in the sector.

Service quality is becoming more crucial for oil and gas firms to maintain their market shares. This study identified the perception of customers of petroleum services firm (NNPC) through the relationship of five factors along with the demographic characteristics of customers. A total of 304 retail customers who patronize petroleum filling stations have been taken for the study and convenience sampling method was adopted for collecting a sample. Factor analysis revealed five factors and results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that while age, gender, occupation have no significant effect on customer perception of service quality income and qualification on the contrary differs significantly. The paper therefore recommends among other things that, the concepts and principles of total quality management (TQM) are recommended for holistic study, in addition to contemporary marketing management issues such as relationship marketing, value analysis and permission marketing, among others. Efforts should also be made by petroleum marketers to understand the relevant factors that affect both clients’ behaviours so as to understand the strategic options to be adopted to cope with such behaviours. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0875/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Purpose The fuel retailing landscape in India is undergoing a structural shift with the reforms undertaken by the government that would help the private and foreign firms to enter this market. India is poised to become the world's largest growth market for energy by the mid-2020s. IoT has become an integral digital technology for the fuel retailers in the retail oil outlet (ROO) ecosystem. The purpose of this paper is to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) business model for the Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs') ROOs. Design/methodology/approach Using literature review along with a survey among 660 respondents led to 402 valid observations, and the variables that contributed to IoT adoption at the OMCs' ROOs were identified. Using the BMC tool (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2009), the relative importance of the variables within each building block was established. The means of all the variables were measured against the average of all the variables, and significant differences were searched for in each block. The notable differences of the means along with significant high and low means were highlighted. Findings This paper depicts empirical research that led to a framework of an IoT business model for Indian public sector ROOs. It also represents the usefulness of the Technology-Organization-Environment framework at the OMCs ROOs and extends the literature by incorporating “data security” to the existent framework of technology, organization and environment within the IoT ecosystem. Research limitations/implications The outcome of the research should be analysed in the Indian context as all the respondents were from India. The study was conducted for the ROOs of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and excluded their downstream operations. The dispensers in the OMCs vary along with their marketing strategies in the retail segments. The IoT business model can be customized for a particular OMC, which is scope of further research. Practical implications The study has practical implications for those global fuel retailers embarking on the IoT adoption drive at their ROOs about the need to install “data security” measures in the connected IoT environment. The study provides insights on how the OMCs can stay ahead of competition in the Indian market vis-à-vis the private sector fuel retailers by embracing the IoT business model. Social implications The new emerging technological business models provide competitive edge to those organizations adopting them (Barney, 1991; Clemons and Row, 1991; Feeny and Ives, 1990). The study will enable the OMCs to implement the IoT business model at their ROOs for enhancing their revenue streams and profitability and lowering of operating costs. The study provides insights on how the OMCs can stay ahead of competition in the Indian market vis-à-vis the private sector fuel retailers by embracing the IoT business model. Originality/value The contribution of the paper is that it is among the first to map the variables that contribute to IoT adoption at the OMCs' ROOs, within the building blocks of the BMC tool (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2009), according to their importance. To retain their dominance and have a first-mover competitive advantage, this study enables the OMCs to adopt the IoT business model and transform their ROOs into Internet-connected intelligent fuel outlets.