Lotos Group expansion plans leads through petrol stations

Over the next two years, the Lotos Group (GL) intends to double the number of its petrol stations. This is the first step the Group is taking to reconstruct its position on the domestic market. Currently, GL owns only 350 petrol stations. Analysts say that a company of such magnitude should have at least double this number, as next to oil extraction, selling fuel is the most profitable part of the oil sector. The Group, particularly its largest part, the Gdańsk Refinery, has already attempted to conquer the market selling ready made fuel to large international networks. Recently, RG scored a spectacular success when it signed a contract to supply fuel to the Polish network of Norwegian Statoil. But for Lotos the direction of future growth is clear. Its president, Paweł Olechnowicz, intends to increase its share of retail sales through expanding its own network of petrol stations. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 24) A.Z.