how to open a filling station here in Nigeria

The Oil Sector is one area where most investors are looking at right now, in a bid to expand their portfolio. If you are among such investors looking for how to open a filling station here in Nigeria, then this article is for you.

Firstly, you have to decide on your preferred location. You need to know that it is very important for you to select a good location for your business. Roadsides or around busy areas are the ideal places to site your station. After you have dealt with this issue you can then go to the DPR for the required licenses you need to procure before you can start such a business here in Nigeria.

When you have finished with your licenses you can then decide if you want to run your business as an independent marketer or as a franchise. Being an independent marketer means that you get to run your business on your own terms from start to finish while being part of a franchise entails your having to go under some sort of agreement with the major players in the industry like OANDO,MOBIL etc where you will be doing your business under their name.

The two branches have their pros and cons so you may want to look at them first before deciding. As an independent marketer, you have the following benefit:

·         Freedom to name and brand your station whatever you want

·         Ability to choose a personal representative to represent you at the NNPC depot where you will be loading your goods

·         Profits are usually higher  as you sell on your own terms

The last point is a major reason while most persons decide to set out as independent marketers.  However, there are attendant disadvantages which include:

·         Having to come up with the required minimum capital for loading which is around N1,677,000 for  30,000litres and even making it through the official bottlenecks

·         Having  to source for haulage companies to lift the products

·         Having to pay a lot on advertisements

·         Having to spend money on insurance.

For a franchise holder however, you don’t have to worry about a lot of things for example:

·         You don’t need a new advert campaign. Let’s say your franchise is under OANDO, you don’t need to advertise because almost every user of petroleum products knows OANDO.

·         You don’t need to employ any representative at the depots because the parent company has one already.

·         You won’t have to go through the hassles of paying NNPC (which can be tedious). All you need to do is to pay into the accounts of the Parent company and the product will be brought to you. You don’t even need any insurance or haulage company; all of these are taken care of by the parent company.

The only downside to running a franchise is that you will have to sell at the company’s approved rates. This affects profits but you can always make up with the constant supplies you will be receiving. An independent marketer may be able to lift just 4 tankers in a whole year but a franchise holder can receive 10 tanks in a month. Go figure! You now know how to open a filling station in Nigeria the choice is yours.

Alternate article titles:

·         Opening a filling station in Nigeria: Important things you need to know

·         Ideas on how to  start a filling station in Nigeria

References:

·         www.edsearchblog.wordpress.com

·         www.nigeriancrudeoilandgas.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-nigerian-crude-oil-and-gas.html

·         www.startupbizhub.com/How-to-Start-a-Gas-Station.htm