Enoc breakeven at $55 per barrel

Dubai-based refiner and retailer Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), which announced last month that it would post Dh2.7 billion losses this year due to selling subsidised fuel, has forecast similar losses for the next year if the oil hovers around $100 per barrel or above, said a senior official.

Speaking to Emirates 24l7 in Dubai on Wednesday, Burhan Al Hashemi, Managing Director for Retail, said the “comfortable level” for the retailer is $55 per barrel which is also the “breakeven” level for the company.

 “The oil prices didn’t come to the expected level we talked about. We were planning at $85 per barrel and today it’s $110 per barrel. It didn’t help us to reduce losses. I think $55 per barrel is the rate for the breakeven,” Al Hashemi added.

Enoc operates petrol stations under the Eppco brand also in the emirate. Earlier this year, it closed a number of fuel stations in the Northern Emirates citing upgradation of the stations. Al Hashemi, however, refused to comment on the resumption of Enoc and Eppco stations in the Northern Emirates

Commenting on the opening of new fuel stations, Al Hashemi said: “We are opening two more petrol stations at Dubai Bypass Road. There is a demand because there are no stations on that road, and traffic is increasing fast. We have one site which will be opened in 2-3 weeks.”

In order to expand its revenues, Enoc has tied up with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to open convenient stores across all the metro stations.

In the first phase, it opened 16 stores and aims to have 43 by the end of first quarter next year.

“We are the only company to run convenient stores in both the Red Line and Green Line. We have opened 16 and by end of first quarter we should be opening all the 43 convenient stores at all the stations,” Al Hashemi added.

Enoc on Wednesday opened a technical training centre to promote Emiratisation across the organisation’s key technical positions in Jebel Ali.

With advanced educational tools including workshops, tool cribs, labs, simulators, a technical library, and specially trained faculty, the Technical Training Centre also commenced the first training programme for 40 UAE National graduates from various technical institutes in the country.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.