Caltex’s magazine for employees, franchisees & resellers
Issue 38 Aug – Sep 07
Thinking big: Caltex’s bold new supply strategy
The Suezmax-sized tanker Energy Sprinter in Botany Bay off Caltex’s Kurnell refinery. The largest tanker to deliver crude oil to Caltex, it carried 875,000 barrels from the Congo Republic in West Africa.
Big ideas in Caltex's fuel supply chain
In the face of the long-term threat from refineries overseas, Caltex needs bigger ships, bigger storage tanks and bigger investments in infrastructure to cut costs and make its supply system more secure.
Kings of the country
A heat haze shimmers over the A4 highway in central Queensland. The road is deserted, but a faint rumbling to the east heralds the approach of something big.
Out of sight, not out of mind
When motorists pull up at a Caltex pump, lift the nozzle and safely fill their cars, they can only do so because a hidden maze of equipment is working reliably.
Road warrior's safety secret
Ken Glenholmes has driven millions of kilometres for Caltex. His trips range from the suburbs of Adelaide to the remotest parts of the South Australian "Iron Triangle" and up to the desert city of Broken Hill.
Supercars sponsorship to end
After an eight-year involvement with the sport, Caltex has decided not to renew its sponsorship of V8 Supercars at the end of the 2007 season.
From the Managing Director
The world of oil refining and marketing is changing. As an Australian company operating in a global market Caltex faces growing competition and cost pressures. The challenges for us include competing to obtain the most suitable crude oils for our refineries and competition from huge new low-cost overseas refineries producing fuels for export.
You can read in this issue of The Star about some of Caltex’s strategies to ensure the business remains strong and successful against such competition while retaining an unbeatable reputation as a safe and reliable supplier.
Australians’ expanding demand for fuel products means that about 25 per cent of local consumption is now met by imports. This proportion will only increase. But Caltex’s core strategy remains unchanged: we are committed to maintaining viable refineries for the long term. It’s important if Australia is to maintain security of supply and stability in the supply chain.
This is why Caltex is buying larger cargoes of crude oil from further away and investing in new tanks and other infrastructure for our refineries and terminals. At the same time we are also upgrading our terminals to handle increased imports.
Safety and reliability is at the heart of everything we do, from building the massive new crude tank at the Kurnell refinery to the delivery of our products at the furthest reaches of our supply chain.
In this issue our employees’ pride and dedication to safety and reliability shines through in the stories of the Adelaide tanker driver with 33 accident free years at work, the Queensland drivers who supply remote outback depots and the fuel testing team who are bringing reassurance to customers across the country. It’s also demonstrated in the work being done to upgrade our underground fuel storage tanks across our service station network.
These are just a few of dozens of examples in every area of the Caltex business. Business strategies and new infrastructure are important, but the key to Caltex’s ongoing strength and success is linked to its employees’, franchisees’ and resellers’ commitment to excellence and doing things in the safest way.
Des King