Sol expands in SVG

Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, will be looking to expand its production in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In less than three months motorists on the leeward side of the island can expect easier access to gas and diesel fuel, as plans are in place to extend its service stations on mainland St. Vincent. {{more}}

During a cocktail reception at the Sunset Shores Hotel on Friday evening Country Manager for Sol Group, Steve Francis, announced that Pembroke has been designated as the site for this development.

This initiative, he said, would be put in place to accommodate the influx of motorists, particularly on the leeward side of the island.

“If you look at the leeward side, strategically speaking, it is imperative for us to have a greater presence on the leeward coast,” Francis explained.

While Sol will continue to use the Shell brand at distribution centres and service stations throughout the country, its management would be entirely under the Sol Group.

According to Francis, Sol would continue to be a customer-centric organization. He noted that the Sol Group has decentralized most of its management operations from Barbados to accommodate local customers on a timely basis.

“Most of our decisions are now being made locally. Long ago customers would have to contact Barbados to do business, and now everything is being done through local management to speed up the business process,” Francis said.

Francis further stated that with the coming on stream of the Petro Caribe Agreement between the Caribbean community and Venezuela, Sol Group would be prepared to assist the governments in their initial set-up stages of operation.

“It’s our corporate position to assist the government with Petro Caribe; we have the storage space and distribution channels to facilitate the process,” Francis said.

Sol presently has nine service stations in this country, seven on mainland St. Vincent and two in the Grenadines.