BP Australia has announced that it will spend over $450 million in the next few years to expand its over 1400 petrol station sites nationally, of which 350 are operated by BP. Eight new stores are planned for 2015 that could rise to 20 a year in coming years.
President of BP Australia Andy Holmes, said that BP had increased spending to $150 million a year in 2014 on refurbishments to its petrol convenience sites, with 75 site refurbishments planned in 2015.
Mr Holmes said that BP Australia’s refurbishment plans are to continue doing that level of expenditure for several years to come with the aim of improving the quality of BP’s retail sites, but mainly extending the network and opening new ones.
“It is very much the big urban centres in the east and around Perth focusing on the major roads and the motorways and truck stops. That is where our investment in new sites is going: the Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth areas and on the major highways,” he said.
BP Australia was looking for a higher quality retail offer, especially in its coffee and food offerings, Mr Holmes said. An example of this was in the UK, where sites can have a Wild Bean café with a Marks & Spencer food offer.
Mr Holmes said that an investment of $2.3 billion was planned in refining, fuel marketing and petrol retailing over the next five years, following the closure of the Bulwer refinery in Brisbane.
In April, BP Australia confirmed that it will cease production at its Bulwer Island Refinery in May, with a supply agreement signed with Caltex for the supply of petrol and diesel from Caltex’s Lytton, Brisbane refinery.