The integrated oil and gas company, MOL Serbia is part of the MOL Group that is very stable and we firmly believe that we will overcome all challenges and emerge stronger from the crisis.
We are focusing on the future because we need to be able to adjust our diversified offer to different industries and customers – starting with fuel and all the way to polymers, which have recorded a higher demand in the previous period.
In which way is the pandemic affecting your industry in 2020, but also in the upcoming year?
The pandemic and consequently the current global economic crisis are already affecting half of the world’s population, and this is the first time in world history that we are facing a crisis of this kind – where both a decline in demand and multitude of supply are present at the same time. The coronavirus pandemic has consequences on the whole global industry and the oil industry is not an exception. Restricting people’s mobility in the state during one period, as well as globally reduced travelling, resulted in the lower demand for petroleum products. We still do not know how the pandemic situation will look in the autumn and how long it will take the governments to fully recall the measures, but we know it will not be overnight.
The way pandemic has influenced the other segments of our business can be seen in the intensified communications that we have with our customers and partners. With joint efforts, we have devised a successful model of cooperation during the most severe crisis ever.
On the other hand, the top priority for MOL Group, of which MOL Serbia is part, is the health and safety of our employees. In the past few months, we have implemented many preventive measures such as minimizing the physical presence of our employees at the sites, home office, obligatory mask at offices, Depot, service stations as well as regularly disinfecting all surfaces.
“As this is the first oil terminal of the company in Serbia, I must underline that I am very proud of all my colleagues who are extremely professional and successfully overcame all the challenges related to launching a business”
The first fuel terminal as the biggest MOL investment was opened last year. What are the capacities of the terminal and what were the challenges in the first year of operating?
Recently we have marked the anniversary of our largest and successful investment in Serbia. By opening fuel Depot in Sremski Karlovci we have ensured continued and stable market supply with fuel from MOL refineries, not depending on weather or transportation conditions. Euro premium BMB and euro diesel storage and trans-shipment have been organized in the terminal, which secures permanent availability of sufficient quantities of the highest quality petrol. The terminal has 5 reservoirs of diesel section capacity of 8,000 m³ and 3 BMB reservoirs section capacity of 4,000 m³.
As this is the first oil terminal of the company in Serbia, I must underline that I am very proud of all my colleagues who are extremely professional and successfully overcame all the challenges related to launching a business. We had the immense help of our colleagues from the entire MOL Group, which operates in 11 European markets, thus their valuable experience contributed to the successful start of the terminal.
The pandemic that hit during the terminal’s first year of operation brought on various challenges. I can say that we are generally very satisfied with the first year of our operations and that we are entering the next year even more prepared.
You constantly offer a wide range of products and services to your customers, and MOL Group cards are also accepted in France, Belgium, the Netherlands… What benefits do these cards bring to companies?
MOL Group cards represent another benefit in the wide range of quality products and services we offer to our customers. When it comes to card types, companies can choose between prepaid and postpaid cards. Depending on their needs, i.e. the locations where they operate, we offer MOL GOLD Serbia cards that can be used at 68 MOL service stations in Serbia, as well as our internationally accepted MOL GOLD Europe cards, which can be used at almost 6,000 MOL and partner petrol stations in 15 European countries. Besides, MOL Group cards are tailored in the way to meet the different needs of our customers. They can set their consumption or service range limits and use the cards for toll payments in Serbia and 6 other Central European countries. We have great cooperation with Business Association “Međunarodni transport” and I can say that their members widely use all the benefits.
Why are transport companies in Serbia choosing MOL Group cards and what is the main reason for that choice?
The key to our clients’ satisfaction is in the trust they place in us, which additionally encourage us to further improve our services. We always operate following the needs of the market and find innovative solutions, so we are already preparing several new projects that will further raise the level of our services, and one of them is opening new petrol stations and expanding our retail network because we want to be a reliable companion everywhere.