Also in this issue

Putting on a great show

Caltex Star Mart made a huge impact at the recent Franchise Expo at Sydney’s Darling Harbour with a custom-built, 36 square metre island stand. Featuring Caltex Star Mart livery, 21CC product display pods and four large plasma screens showing convenience store and forecourt images, the stand was designed so Expo visitors could experience an actual Star Mart.

“The decision to adopt a high profile at the Expo was strategic – a way to put the Star Mart brand on the radar of people looking for franchise opportunities with a major retailer,” says Ben Galton, Franchise Development Manager. “It was about putting a face to our convenience retail brand, and giving visitors the opportunity to meet us and talk about future possibilities”.

Caltex retail personnel from NSW and ACT, including Ben, manned the stand, which also won “best stand over 18 square metres” at the Expo. Ben says the whole experience was a positive one with numerous enquiries from potential franchisees. He attributes the success of the event to team effort: “key people from Caltex Retail, Brand and Communications and Project Services worked together to deliver an outstanding result.”

Ben will now take the Caltex Star Mart stand on the road, featuring at franchise Expos in Perth in May; Victoria in August and Brisbane in September.

“Attracting the right franchisees is critical to the ongoing success of any franchise network and this is no different at Caltex Australia, says Leo Pucar, National Manager Retail. “As we continue our journey from service stations to convenience stores, we are seeking a different type of franchisee, a high calibre retailer seeking a sustainable investment.”

Pipeline planner’s quest for new control-room technology

Caltex’s pipeline network for transferring crude oil and refined petroleum products is about 320 kilometres long. But some similar pipelines in the US are up to 15,000 miles (24,000 kilometres) long.

Despite the differences in size and scale, Caltex’s pipeline control room technology is more or less equal to that used by oil companies in North America. In fact, the most important applications like batch tracking and leak detection in Caltex’s current system have not substantially altered in systems delivered in the US as recently as 2008 – a tribute to the architects of 20 years ago.

These were among the interesting findings of a three-man Caltex team who recently completed an 18-day study tour of pipeline control rooms in the US. The purpose of the tour by Supply & Distribution’s Peter Tisell, Kossey Petros and Rob Brooks was to review systems and examine the support and service levels provided by vendors.

The tour was a key part of the selection process to update the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system controlling the six pipelines in the Sydney Basin. The trio visited seven control rooms and two vendor facilities across four states.

“The existing custom-built Foxboro SCADA at Banksmeadow Terminal has served Caltex well for nearly two decades but it’s increasingly difficult and costly to maintain,” explains Peter.

“A modern replacement is more likely to be a packaged product so it was important for us to understand what direction SCADA products have taken and the system that will best suit our requirements.”

The sites they visited included the large installations at Chevron’s pipeline company in Houston; Conoco Phillips in Ponca City, Oklahoma; as well as smaller systems in Louisiana and Montana.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) facility was especially interesting. It pumps oil from super-tanker moorings in the Gulf of Mexico into gigantic salt caverns 500 metres under coastal wetlands, each 10 times the size of the largest tank at Kurnell. Fifteen per cent of all US oil consumption moves through LOOP.

“We were struck by the specialised skills of the people running control rooms,” says Peter. “Operators generally focus on specific tasks with little multi-skilling evident.”

Security was tight. For example Chevron needed the trio’s passports, a “stat dec” and 30 days to conduct independent security checks before they could even enter their control room, which monitors 12,000 miles (19,000 kilometres) of pipeline and has nine controllers.

Key lessons learned for incorporation into Caltex’s SCADA project plans include: the need for design simplicity and for clear and accountable communication lines with equipment vendors and the development, at the out-set, of whole of life support arrangements.

Caltex compassion showcased in Victorian bushfire crisis

The generosity of Caltex and its employees, contractors, franchisees, resellers and other business partners has been evident once again in the aftermath of the catastrophic Victorian bushfires.

Collectively they raised over $400,000 for the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal, a sum made up of a corporate contribution of $313,897 including Caltex’s initial pledge, employee matching and a Partners Fund contribution.

An additional $90,161 was raised through employee and partners donations, and Caltex provided the Red Cross with StarCash.

Help beyond fundraising
The assistance went beyond fundraising. “Caltex not only provided fuel and cash to the appeal, we played a major role in ensuring supply was available at all times,” says Carmen Prince, Sponsorship and Social Investment Manager.

On the grim weekend in February when hundreds lost their lives, company drivers and depot people across the state gave up their time to make fuel available and refuel Country Fire Association (CFA) vehicles in some of the state’s worst hot spots. Many volunteered their time free.

On the Sunday, Mark Dunning, Manager of the Hampton Park depot in Melbourne, was out with his family when he received an urgent call from Joe Ferguson, Caltex South East Operations & Logistics Manager. Joe told him the staff at the Caltex retail site in the central Victorian town of Broadford had been refuelling fire fighting and emergency services vehicles and was now so short of diesel it would run out within the day. Mark dropped his family off at home and took a tanker load of diesel up to Broadford.

In the regional city of Bendigo the Caltex South East depot received calls on the Saturday from the CFA saying they needed fuel desperately and that Caltex was their only hope of getting it. Depot manager John Dixon and driver Danny Rayner drove to the depot, opened the gates and refuelled all the CFA vehicles, working in shifts.

“We don’t have too many contracts with the CFA and local councils, but we’re always the first to offer our services,” says Joe.

“It’s been well noted by local authorities, especially in Gippsland. Our operations team as a whole always put their hand up to help. They’re a credit to themselves and to Caltex.”

Lytton provides pelican haven

A bunch of big-mouths who took up temporary residence at a Lytton refinery warehouse have caused a bit of a flap.

Eight oil-covered pelicans and one crested tern needed a place to stay while they were fed and cleaned up by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rangers and other helpers including an expert from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

The birds were victims of a spill from the cargo vessel Pacific Adventurer which made headlines after being holed in a storm off southern Queensland and leaking 200,000 litres of oil into Moreton Bay on 12 March.

They were all found near Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island. Because they were used to people they were relatively tame and captured easily, says Lytton refinery’s community relations coordinator Toni Dugdale.

Lytton Environment Superintendent Brian Butler offered assistance to the EPA effort when he heard they were seeking a warehouse in which to look after the birds. Brian thought immediately of the South Street buildings bought by Caltex to accommodate employees away from the refinery’s hazardous zones.

The vacant Building B was quickly set up with veterinary areas, washing and rinsing stations, drying pens, recovery cages and plastic-sided pools.

The guests weren’t happy when they first arrived. In fact they refused to eat and had to be tube-fed directly into their stomachs. But after a few days they began to eat fish and drink water by themselves.

It took three people up to two hours to wash each pelican with warm water and a mild detergent, according to EPA Chief Advisor for Incident Response, Mike Short. One person washed while the others held the animal to prevent injuries to itself and the washer. One they’d been dried they were left alone to preen their feathers back to a waterproof layer.