Gas bottle delivery to come Sat 24 Aug Duane Gukisuva (right) is in charge of filling and delivering Toa’s gas bottles - each small bottle takes about 38 seconds to fill. Toa Petroleum has branched out into the gas business, and expects to make the price of gas cheaper – and deliver bottles to people’s homes. Toa recently purchased Teina Bishop’s company, Super Gas, which previously was supplied by Origin Energy Cook Islands. As Toa will import its own gas, it will now be in competition with Origin. The cost of the gas is not yet known – Toa has submitted an application to the Price Control Tribunal and is awaiting their decision – but director Brett Porter said he anticipates the cost will be lower than current prices. “The business model is different. It’s more efficient. Origin has been around forever – their business model is out-dated, and all we’ve done is adopt another model,” said Porter. “There’s a lot less infrastructure doing it the way we’re doing it – there are a lot less overheads.” Toa’s gas is supplied in large tanks called isotainers. These are taken from the wharf to Toa’s site in Panama, and pumped into the gas bottles. The bottles are then distributed to petrol stations around the island. Porter said there are also plans to provide a delivery service. “That is going to involve us going to people’s houses and replacing the gas bottles.” There will be a small charge for delivery, but the cost of this is yet to be announced. The new gas business has involved constructing a filling station at the Toa site – a project that was overseen by Auckland-based Matson Bulk Fuels and Gas general manager Campbell Hope. Matson supplies gas to a large portion of the Pacific, including Toa. Hope was also involved in setting up Super Gas, and has trained nine of Toa’s staff members to be able to run the new station – though only one of them, Duane Gukisuva, will do so most of the time. The three-hour training session involved watching a DVD, completing a workbook, and taking a test at the end. “Because of their background with petroleum, the boys did great. Safety is already a big word for them,” said Hope. Toa has “hundreds” of gas bottles, including a new fleet of around 370 small and 170 large bottles. The bottles are all being painted yellow, along with the bottle holders at the petrol stations and the delivery truck. Hope arrived in the Cooks on Tuesday, and flew back to New Zealand yesterday. He will soon be travelling to Vanuatu to oversee a similar project. cinews.co.ck
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:56:39 +0000
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