Petronas Lubricants signs exclusive dealership with Gomeju Oil Ethiopia
Petronas Lubricants International has signed an exclusive dealership agreement with Gomeju Oil Ethiopia that enables the latter to distribute Petronas lubricants and greases in Ethiopia.
At a launching ceremony held at the Sheraton Addis on March 12, executives of Petronas Lubricants International and Gomeju Oil Ethiopia announced their new partnership.
Yigzaw Mekonnen, general manager of Gomeju Oil Ethiopia, said that Gomeju is proud to partner with a global leading lubricants manufacturer, Petronas Lubricants International.
“Petronas grease and motor oil are of high quality. The price could be a bit higher but that does not mean anything considering the high quality of the products.”
Steven Vandenheede, supervisor of Export Sales for Africa, Middle East and Overseas, said that Petronas products have been recommended for brand new vehicles produced by IVECO and New Holland.
“We work closely with IVECO, CNH and Mercedes Benz. IVECO recommends new trucks to use Petronas motor oil when they come out of the manufacturing plant. As a manufacturer we are the only company who can manufacture recommended lubricants by IVECO and New Holland.”
Vandenheede said that there are a large number of IVECO trucks in Ethiopia adding that IVECO was unable to import Petronas products due to legal issues. “Now thanks to Gomeju we can bring our products to Ethiopia.”
Gomeku Oil Ethiopia was established by Tewodros Yeshiwas and his wife Genet Gebreigzabher with a registered capital of ETB 53 million (USD 1.9 million) in 2015. The company recently raised its capital to ETB 100 million (USD 3.6 million).
Gomeju Oil started operations in 2016 with 24 service stations. The company was officially inaugurated in May 2017. The number of service stations has reached 40. The company has invested ETB 1 billion (USD 36 million) on service stations, buildings and fuel tanker trucks, creating 1,000 jobs. According to Yigzaw, the company will now focus on lubricants, LPG and bitumen supply.
Gomeju Oil is also in the process of building an ethanol and lubricants blending plant.
