In their 25th year, Eterna continue to push boundaries with their innovation, high level of performance and strong principles, accompanying their vision to be an energy company that delivers exceptional value.
ENERGY ENTREPRENEURS
Eterna was incorporated on the 13th of January 1989 as Eterna Oil & Gas Limited and commenced business in 1991. The company was re-registered as a public limited company in 1997. In a bid to carve a niche as a manufacturer and marketer of reliable, efficient and high quality lubricants and oil products, Eterna established a technical trading relationship with Castrol BP in 1991 – the pioneers in global lubricant technology and specialty chemicals. This relationship gave rise to a distributorship agreement and an exclusive right to import and market Castrol products in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region.
Eterna have significantly expanded their retail network in coastal areas in order to enhance cash flows and profitability with the following acquisitions:
- A coastal tank farm in Lagos with a capacity of 34 million litres
- An aviation fuel depot at the Bill Clinton Drive, within the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja
- Development of a coastal storage facility in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State to serve the petroleum products needs of the Eastern and Southern markets
- Roll-out of several filling stations across the country
Eterna engage in the manufacturing and sale of lubricating oils and petrochemicals; importation and bulk/retail sale of petroleum products including PMS, AGO, LPFO, base oils, bitumen and export of lubricants/fuels; bunkering, gas distribution and marketing LPG and NG; offshore and onshore oil services; gas processing; equipment supply services and other engineering and technical services for the energy sector.
FUEL STATION
The underlying philosophy of Eterna’s retail business is value for money and loyalty rewards. With pumps that are calibrated to highest industry standards, the station attendants are honest and customer-friendly and their stations are safe and accessible. The integrity of Eterna’s pumps is now widely acknowledged and continues to attract customers. The company have embarked on strategies to ensure that they remain visible as a retail outlet business. Eterna have bounced back from a zero level, to ownership of 12 retail sites, 3 in Abuja, 4 in Lagos, 1 in Kaduna, 1 in Port Harcourt, 1 in Enugu and ongoing project development in Ijebu-Ode and Ibadan. On the 13th of September 2008, they commissioned and opened their flagship petrol filling station located at Gidado Idris District, Wuye Abuja. It is a one-stop-shop filling station that houses, amongst other things, a banking hall, an eatery, a shopping mall, a cyber café and ATM.
LUBE BLENDING PLANT
Eterna’s high grade lubricants are blended at their plant in Sagamu, Ogun State. The plant occupies a sprawling land mass of almost five hectares along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway. It is the third plant in Africa to exclusively manufacture Castrol products and the only one to cater for the West African markets. The plant houses a state-of the-art laboratory with hi-tech equipments which has ensured that the usual Castrol international quality standard is maintained.
PETROLEUM STORAGE TERMINALS
In order to register their presence as an oil marketing company to be reckoned with, Eterna recently acquired a 30 million-litre facility for storing petroleum products at the Ibru Jetty, Ibafon, Apapa. They also acquired an aviation tank farm along Bill Clinton Drive at the Nnamdi Azikwe Internal Airport, Abuja, to meet the demands of the aviation industry.
OUR CORPORATE IDENTITY
The unveiling of their new logo in 2005 marked yet another significant milestone in management’s ongoing drive towards re-engineering and repositioning Eterna to deliver exceptional value to their stakeholders. The change in logo is a manifestation of change across the company, affecting Eterna’s focus, drive and performance.
The three sails of Eterna’s logo represent the planned integration in the oil sector. “Sails were chosen as our symbol because sailing is about harnessing natural resources for movement and the adventure of crossing borders. There is a sense of freedom and timelessness which comes with sailing and which reflects aspects of the Eterna spirit,” the website states. The border around the logo conveys the stability that Eterna now has; a company which has had experiences from which it has drawn, resulting in a stronger, bettergrounded company. The yellow, orange and green colours of the logo demonstrate the energy and vision of the company as well as representing its concern for the environment. “The company name is written using a type face which is attractive, yet simple. The use of a small ‘e’ for Eterna shows the youthful, innovative and informal company that we like to think of ourselves as.”
CORPORATE COMMITMENTS
Today’s business processes emphasise the need for best practice, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility play key roles in ensuring that Eterna’s activities live up to the expectations of their stakeholders. The company maintain a robust Community Affair, Safety, Health, Environment and Security Policy (CASHES) that meets international standards. “We ensure high standards of corporate governance, transparency and fairness in all our dealings because we believe that strong corporate governance is a key factor in creating shareholder value and maintaining our investors’ confidence,” says the website. “We recognise the growing demand of good governance on our brand and we are not ignorant of the statutory and regulatory requirements for publicly quoted companies in Nigeria. We operate in compliance with the duties and responsibilities as provided in the Code of Corporate Governance relevant in Nigeria.” Furthermore, the company have set up an internal control and audit department to ensure that the risks facing the company are correctly assessed, evaluated and managed to combat the possibilities of adverse exposure. By maintaining the services of a health management outfit, Eterna have ensured that there is adequate security for their personnel, client representatives and third parties at all of their work sites and premises, with an insurance policy covering against liability. As a result, Eterna are able to create a safe and peaceful working environment, ensuring that all sub-contractors perform their work in accordance with their CASHES policy.
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS
As responsible corporate citizens, the company recognise on their website that they cannot conduct business in isolation from the society: “We know that our industry permeates all sectors, thus, we place considerable emphasis on investment strategies that are beneficial to the society at large.” Moreover, in carrying out their operations, Eterna strive to eliminate adverse effects or impact their work has on the environment: “We are embarking on sustainable investments in cleaner energy products such as gas, solar power and bio-fuels to complement the global efforts to reduce emissions and damage to the environment. Research and development is fundamental to our industry. We shall continue to invest in scientific approaches to ensure that we produce the best quality, at affordable prices.”
With a vision to be an energy company that delivers exceptional value, Eterna continue to push boundaries with their innovation, high level of performance and strong principles.
