UK oil titan BP's Austria unit has been forced to sell 94 petrol stations across its domestic market in the last year, after falling petrol sales led to significant losses, regional daily publication Die Presse has reported, as cited by AFX News.
BP Austria reportedly booked a loss of E17.5 million in 2006 as both falling petrol production and rising petrol prices led to a drop in consumer demand, Die Presse stated.
The start of BP’s operations in Austria date back to 1950, since which time the company has built up a retail network of 562 service stations and a market share of around 23%. On the company’s website, BP states that its Austrian arm serves 100,000 customers a day.
The company’s main focus in Austria is on the retail and wholesale of lubricants and fuels, which include transportation fuels, heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas and aviation fuel. In the lubricants sector, BP Austria operates under the Aral, BP and Castrol brands.