Adapting to evolving customer needs

Shell Oman Marketing Company operates in a multi downstream-business structure providing retail, commercial, lubricants, aviation, marine and Bitumen products and services in Oman  

The retail business remains the largest revenue segment for Shell Oman Marketing. In 2018, the business continued to build on its mission of “making life’s journeys better”. This includes network expansion, operational excellence, developing world class people and introduction of new and innovative customer value propositions being the key priorities in order to adapt to evolving customer needs and changing regulations. The retail business sustained its market leader position, with prior year investments in new sites and upgrades to existing sites together with continuous improvement in customer experience helping it maintain its lead.

The lubricants market environment remained challenging due to the overall slowdown in the economy and a significant drop in new vehicle registrations compared to last year which has resulted in overall lower demand and a tighter credit market. The focus in the business has been to attract new key accounts in the market, grow volumes from existing customers and enhance its route-to-market strategy in the indirect business.

Challenging transition
In 2018, Trading & Supply (T&S) division has transitioned its volumes from the SOM Mina Al Fahal (MAF) terminal to Orpic’s new Al Jifnain Terminal as part of the Government’s plans for this sector. This challenging transition was handled well by the T&S team in collaboration with their counterparts in Orpic, both in terms of HSSE and operational matters. Volumes in Port Sultan Qaboos, Sohar and Raysut remained stable during the year.

The company’s aviation team managed to obtain significant new businesses and retained key contracts at Muscat International Airport, which contributed positively to the overall performance. New international airlines from Europe and Russia have introduced flights at Salalah, which has had a significant positive impact on sales.