Page 15 - DMEA Week 43 2021

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Aramco, TotalEnergies

launch new service stations

MIDDLE EAST SAUDI Aramco and France’s TotalEnergies have Saudis to pursue careers in retail and marketing.”
launched two new fuel service stations in Saudi Meanwhile, Patrick Pouyanné, the French
Arabia under a joint venture (JV) agreement firm’s CEO, noted: “We aim to provide our new
signed in 2019. Saudi customers with clean, reliable and accessi-
The two stations, located in Riyadh and Sai- ble energy” in a nod to both companies’ efforts
hat in Eastern Province respectively, are part of a to improve their green credentials. Both of the
broader scheme to upgrade Aramco’s 270 service new fuel stations will be powered by rooftop
stations across the Kingdom. solar panels.
Meanwhile, it also illustrates a growing bond Earlier this month, Sources were quoted by
between the two companies in the downstream Bloomberg this week as saying that Aramco is
which is highlighted by the 440,000 barrel per considering selling a stake in its retail fuels and
day (bpd) Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Pet- lubricants division, with shares floating on the
rochemical (SATORP) facility in Jubail, which local Tadawul stock exchange.
was commissioned in 2014. Since it was established in 2018, Aramco’s
In a joint statement, the companies said retail division “has continued to grow its fuel
that the new network “will comprise Aramco retail presence through its affiliates, supplying
or TotalEnergies branded stations, providing refined products to more than 17,000 service
motorists with premium fuels and retail services”. stations worldwide with 5,300 located in the
Aramco’s President and CEO Amin Nasser US, more than 5,200 in China and South Korea,
said: “The opening of the first service stations 6,500 in Japan and 270 service stations in Saudi
marks an important milestone as we continue Arabia”, according to the firm’s 2020 annual
to expand our presence in the Kingdom’s down- report. It added that it has finalised its “new
stream value chain. With our entry into retail, retail brand design concept that will be used in
we aim to deliver the best experience possible the construction and re-branding of its first wave
for customers, while creating opportunities for of Aramco service stations”.™

TERMINALS & SHIPPING

Cyberattack hits petrol stations across Iran

MIDDLE EAST A cyberattack has hit the operation of petrol country is enduring.
stations in various parts of Iran, state television The incident comes three years after deadly
reported on October 26. protests spilled out across the country when the
No one took responsibility for the attack, one previous government of Hassan Rouhani sud-
aspect of which appeared to be the displaying of denly increased the litre-price of gasoline in the
a telephone number for the office of Supreme country.
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on road signs This latest attack caused complete fuel sup-
across Tehran. The number, which some reports ply stoppages at filling stations. Long traffic jams
said is a hotline for dealing with questions on were seen across Tehran.
Islamic law, was also broadcast during a cyber- The Iranian Oil Ministry announced that it
attack on the Iranian railway system earlier this was holding an emergency meeting to solve the
year. That attack was associated with the Indra problem.
hacker group, named after the head of the Hindu Blogger “Abu Ali”, who writes about Middle
pantheon. East events, spotted that the telephone num-
The latest cyberattack, which took place on ber that appeared on petrol pump screens and
the birthday of the late Shah Mohammad Reza motorway signs was the telephone number for
Pahlavi who, stricken with cancer, fled the coun- the office of Khamenei,
try in 1979 just before the Islamic Revolution, In Isfahan, the question “Khamenei, where is
was confirmed by the Supreme National Security our fuel?” was plastered on electronic billboards
Council of Iran. The target of the attack was gov- across the city. Another message read: “Free gas
ernment electronic card networks run to provide in Jamaran gas station.” That was a reference to
fuel subsidies, which many Iranians have to rely the home of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah
on amid the serious economic problems the Ruhollah Khomeini.™

Week 43 28•October•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P15