Shell Oman: Focusing on Innovation and Sustainability

Muscat- Shell Oman Marketing Company, a leading fuel marketing firm in the sultanate, stands as a beacon of innovation and consumer trust in Oman’s fuel marketing industry. The company was honored with Oman’s Most Trusted Brand Award 2023 in both fuel station and lubricant categories. In this exclusive interview with Muscat Daily, Suresh Nair, General Manager – Mobility at Shell Oman, shares insights into the company’s success and future vision, highlighting their groundbreaking and innovative product developments and visionary strategies for a sustainable future.

What do you believe are the main reasons behind Shell Oman’s success as a trusted brand in Oman?

Shell Oman takes pride in its relentless commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Our success stems from a holistic approach that prioritises quality products, exceptional services, and unwavering adherence to the highest standards of Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) as well as ethics and compliance.

At Shell Oman, we understand that the trust is earned through consistent delivery on promises. Behind the scenes, our frontline staff, the heroes of our operations, undergo rigorous training through our ‘People Make the Difference Real’ programme, ensuring they deliver exceptional customer service while upholding stringent HSSE practices. Through ongoing promotions and offers, we cultivate brand loyalty, providing a fully integrated service experience to our valued customers.

Shell Oman recently introduced the new and improved Shell V-Power. Could you highlight its distinctive features and explain how it sets itself apart from other fuel types currently available?

The introduction of the new and improved Shell V-Power marks a milestone in enhancing motorist’s journeys in Oman. This premium fuel, meticulously engineered over five years, is designed to clean up to 100% of critical engine components, maximising engine performance and keeping the engine running like new. Unlike conventional fuels, Shell V-Power’s unique formulation is tailored to meet the needs of both older and new vehicles, ensuring an ideal driving experience characteried by cleanliness, and protection.

This innovation symbolises our unwavering commitment to exceeding customer expectations and setting a benchmark for fuel excellence in Oman.

The new and improved Shell V-Power is now available at 60 Shell service stations in Oman and will be expanded to all Shell sites in a phased manner.

Can you elaborate on the technology utilised in the development of Shell V-Power, and how it enhances vehicle performance?

The new Shell fuels, including Shell V-Power, have been developed through research by Shell’s international team of fuel scientists, who also work in close collaboration with the team that develops Shell V-Power race fuels for Scuderia Ferrari, over the course of five years, leveraging both their expert knowledge and long heritage in innovation. The cleaning and engine performance recovery of the fuels have also been demonstrated through rigorous industry standard and Shell proprietary tests.

There are many stages of testing before we are ready to share a new product with our customers, from the conception of an idea – through to the delivery of the fuel – and finally to the pumps. The first round of testing predominantly takes place in the laboratory, where we investigate a vast array of formulations. The ones that look most promising then go on to bench engine testing, which involves an engine being taken out of a vehicle and being operated under tightly controlled test conditions – this eliminates as many experimental conditions and variables as possible.

After that, we test the fuel in a real vehicle, on a rolling road – otherwise known as a chassis dynamometer – which represents road driving conditions but in a more tightly controlled environment. The final stage of testing involves us using the products in a trial in vehicles under real road conditions.

How many service stations does Shell Oman currently operate in Oman? Additionally, could you discuss the company’s plans for future expansion, including the addition of new locations and products?

Shell Oman has a multi-years investment programme that takes into account the sultanate’s key economic indicators. At present, Shell Oman has 211 service stations across the sultanate. We are committed to expanding our presence in the country to ensure that our customers have convenient access to our services. Our future expansion plans will be based on market demand and customer needs, and we will continue to prioritise sustainability and innovation in our operations.

We are planning to increase our network of quality Shell service stations especially that will serve the newly developing highways and main roads as well as the urban developments and strategic projects in Oman, while relentlessly investing in making our customers experience better and safer by introducing new products and services. Our extensive network of service stations play a crucial role in our growth while supporting the economic development plans in the sultanate.

How do you envision continuing to nurture and evolve the Shell brand to uphold its position as one of the leaders in Oman’s fuel marketing industry?

To continue building and evolving the Shell brand locally in the future, our clear focus is on innovation and sustainability. We aim to provide our customers with cutting-edge products and services that meet their evolving needs and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Moreover, we are working towards smart service stations. Our smart service station concept makes Shell Oman the first fuel marketing company in Oman to plan to implement these state-of-the-art modular service stations and which hopefully will come into implementation in the near future. We are also working towards green mobility and have taken steps in that direction. Our first electric vehicle-charging unit in Oman at the Al Bandar Service Station in Seeb is a shining testament of the same.

We aim to expand our EV charging network with an aim to connect the main cities in Oman over the coming years. We currently have 15 EV charging points in strategically selected service station to cater to electric vehicle driving needs.

Moreover, the Shell Go+ app for our loyal customers enables them to gain access to exclusive offers and accumulate reward points for each visit. These points can be utilized to obtain special offers at Shell service stations.

By continuing to invest in these areas and our evident focus on innovation and digitisation, we are determined to meet the evolving needs of our customers while contributing towards a more sustainable future.

With Oman aiming to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050, sustainability and environmental concerns have gained significant importance across industries. How does Shell Oman define sustainability, and what specific initiatives is the company undertaking in this regard?

Shell Oman is committed to sustainability, driving Oman’s energy transition towards net-zero emissions by 2050. We have until today solar-powered infrastructures, EV charge points for passenger vehicles as well as vapor recovery systems in selected service stations. We will continue to work with the government, community and industry to navigate this journey whilst also leveraging on our strength and developments in the mobility space to ensure that the needs of our customers in their life journeys continue to be met in the years to come.