Why do large petrochemical companies plan gas station business?
petrochemical enterprise gas station refined oil
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text | Flying snow all over the sky
Last week, Liaohe Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Liaoning Baolai Enterprise Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Baolai Group"), officially opened its gas station in Guchengzi Town, Panshan County. As the largest private petrochemical enterprise in Northeast my country, Bora Group has taken another step in the gas station terminal market.
Some time ago, the news that Hengli Group's first gas station opened also attracted industry attention. On January 27, Hengli Group's first wholly-owned Guangdong Shaoguan Rushao gas station was put into operation, marking a new breakthrough in the development of energy terminal business.
Why do large refining and chemical companies extend their industrial chains and deploy gas station terminal businesses? What kind of industry trend is behind it?
01, terminal market has become a must-fight place
Bolai Group is a raw oil supplier, mainly engaged in petroleum refining, fine chemical industry, petroleum trade and other businesses. Its subsidiary Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel Co., Ltd. is the largest local refinery in the Northeast region of . has the right to use crude oil by 7 million tons/year and the qualification for non-state-owned crude oil trade imports of 7 million tons/year.
, Hengli Group, as one of the most representative private petroleum and petrochemical giants in my country, expands its territory to consumer terminals, highlights the new development trends in the gas station field.
The refined oil industry has a complex industrial chain and many participants, involving refining, transportation and sales links. It is the downstream of the refining and chemical industry. As a retail terminal for refined oil, the gas station undertakes important oil sales tasks.
layout in the terminal field will have a positive effect on improving brand influence and market share. This is also an inevitable choice made by large refining and chemical companies in the face of an increasingly fierce competitive environment.
Thanks to the relaxation of the policy environment, a number of large-scale refining and chemical projects have been launched in recent years. The domestic refining capacity has surged, and , such as Hengli Petrochemical's 20 million tons refining and chemical integration project has been announced to be put into production.
According to relevant reports, in 2020, the domestic refining capacity was 27 million tons, and the total refining capacity reached 887 million tons. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's refining capacity may reach 1 billion tons per year, surpassing the United States to become the world's largest refining capacity country. This has laid hidden dangers for overcapacity. In 2019, China's refining capacity was 150 million tons, and in 2020, it reached 170 million tons.
. Affected by factors such as slowing economic growth and industrial transformation, domestic refined oil consumption has long passed the dividend period of rapid growth, ushering in a new stage of competition upgrade .
In the context of overcapacity of refining oil production, whether or not it can have a place in the terminal market is related to the survival of private refining enterprises. The gas station field has also become a "must-fight place". Therefore, the saying in the industry that "Those who win the terminal will win the world" is circulated.
02. Industry competition is gradually intensifying
Private refineries have entered the field of gas stations, trying to hold terminal sales profits in their own hands.
official news said that in the future, Liaohe Petroleum brand gas stations will cover Panjin urban area in multiple locations, and will continue to summarize and optimize the internal system, and will promote its finished gas station system services to the Northeast and even the whole country.
Hengli Energy stated that relying on the group's strong oil production capacity and resource supply advantages of upstream petroleum refining, Hengli invested 10 billion yuan to develop the refined oil retail market, aiming to build Hengli Energy's own gas station retail brand.
Previously, Rongsheng Petrochemical also revealed to the public that Zhejiang Petroleum will sell refined oil products in its own gas station in Zhejiang, and plans to build 700 gas stations by the end of 2022. After all, it is expected to sell 3 million tons of gas and diesel per year.
Shandong local refining giant Dongming Petrochemical announced that it will invest more than 50 billion yuan in the next few years to acquire, lease and build more than 100 gas stations around Chengdu to expand the coverage scale of its gas stations.
With the increase in upstream refining and chemical production capacity, refineries have extended their layout to the downstream, and a new round of market competition has begun.
Overall view of the national gas station market. At this stage, the number of gas stations in my country has increased to about 120,000.
Among them, China Petroleum and Sinopec have the largest scale, and the two main businesses, including CNOOC, , Sinochem , and AVIC Oil, account for about half of the total.
The number of private gas stations accounts for the other half, but in terms of refined oil sales, the two main sales account for more than 70%, and the sales of private gas stations account for only about 20%, showing the characteristics of "many but small".
For foreign investment, after the release of the "Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2018 Edition)", the restrictions on more than 30 foreign-funded gas stations needing Chinese control, and foreign-funded enterprises' intention to increase their investment in the Chinese market has been lifted.
In recent years, many foreign companies have announced expansion plans, UK BP Company will add 1,000 new gas stations in China in the next five years; Royal Dutch Shell plans to add more than 2,000 new gas stations by 2025; Gulf Petroleum also stated that it will add 1,000 new gas stations in China in the next 10 years.
two main business resources have strong advantages, occupy better locations, and have strong competitiveness. Foreign-funded enterprises are also actively expanding and stepping up their foothold in the Chinese market. Private gas stations may face the situation of "two-sided attacks" in the situation of comprehensively upgrading market competition.
03. How can private refineries break through
For large refining and chemical companies, gas station terminals are a strategic high ground that cannot be ignored. So, in the face of the nearly saturated gas station market, how should newly entered private refineries seek breakthroughs?
In fact, although there are many existing private gas stations, under the shadow of the two main businesses, only a few domestic companies can establish their own brand influence.
The industry attaches great importance to brand building in recent years, and some companies have also come up with successful cases, such as the "Little Dolphin" gas station created by Haike Group has created a unique and differentiated brand image. This time, Hengli Group invested 10 billion yuan to enter the gas station terminal, and also emphasized that it was necessary to build its "own gas station retail brand".
In terms of gas station expansion, self-built gas stations alone are too expensive and the cycle is too long. Therefore, powerful private refining and chemical companies can adopt the method of mergers and merge existing stocks to quickly expand the scale of their gas stations through acquisitions, leasing, etc. In terms of service and operation, innovating profit models and seeking cross-border and transformation are key directions that must be paid attention to.
Some gas stations are exploring the business model of "gas station + convenience store" . Based on the traditional oil retail business, other services are provided, such as parking, shopping, catering, auto repair, car washing, etc.
For example, the first single-brand gas station opened in China in 2019 can provide branded coffee made to order and delivered to the car, and there is also free wireless network to provide special services.
Domestic enterprises are represented by two main businesses, including Easy-Jie Convenience Store under Sinopec, Kunlun Hospitality Convenience Store under Sinopec, Kunlun Hospitality Convenience Store under Sinopec, , a total of nearly 50,000 stores, covering the country, providing coffee, fresh food, masks and other products and services, which are cultivating the consumption habits of Chinese people. The first gas station opened by Hengli this time also combines refined oil retail and convenience store business.
In addition, digital transformation is also something that must be considered in building gas stations today. Online energy retail platforms can realize the interconnection of gas stations; mobile payments can improve refueling efficiency; big data analysis will help companies understand users and also help flexibly adjust products and services according to needs.
Policy restrictions in my country's terminal retail market for refined oil are gradually relaxed. In September last year, the State Council issued a notice to cancel the qualification approval for wholesale and warehousing and operation of oil refined oil, and delegate the qualification approval for retail refined oil retail operation from provincial commerce departments to designated departments of municipal people's governments with districts, shortening the approval process.
terminal market channel is related to the survival and development of enterprises. Private petrochemical enterprises enter the refined oil retail industry, which is a response measure taken against the background of overcapacity in the industry. At this stage, the survival of gas stations can no longer be maintained by lowering prices. Large refining and chemical companies put into operation of gas stations will also promote the common upgrading and progress of the industry through exploration.
