The new Delta Petroleum flagship service station currently under construction in Stony Grove, Nevis. Photo:supplied

Delta Petroleum's Regional General Manager, Mr Bevis Sylvester, seen assessing the progress being made on the construction at the station. Photo:supplied

Speaking with Virgin Islands News Online, Mr Sylvester disclosed that although this will now be DP’s flagship station on the island, there are also five additional service stations in the Federation of St Kitts & Nevis. The station will be located at Stony Grove, Nevis.

This is the first time that a new brand of the service stations has been attempted in the Federation and it is expected to be markedly more user-friendly with features such as electronic pumps to be included as opposed to the manual pumps of old. Additionally, pumps are expected to be credit card readable, a first for DP stations in the region according to the RGM. The feature is dependent on the ability of local banks to facilitate the new mechanism and is expected to be readily available upon the launch of the new station.

There will also be a self-service as well as a full-service lane, with customers expected to receive a cheaper price in the self-service lane of the station. The entire console mechanism for the pumps is expected to be fully computerised while the tank gauging system for the station is also set to be electronic and fully viewable by the Regional Office online.

While the project has faced some amount of setbacks through rainy weather, it remains within the six-month timeline originally set with the projected completion date now moved to the end of January, 2013. The total cost of the new service station is expected to be in the region of $700,000 to $1M.

Touching on the importance of the new service station in the wider scheme of DP’s plans, the RGM said “because Nevis is an island that is driven on their commitment to Delta, I think that country deserves a flagship service station.” He further disclosed that, “Delta Petroleum went there and has been performing the power plant contract for many years.”

According to the RGM, “Delta Petroleum is known for its service and for being responsive to the needs of its customers, we pride ourselves on the efficiency of the service station.” Within the first six months to a year of the station’s opening, Delta Petroleum will be setting the standards of operation and the station will most likely be managed by a distributor following this period.

Delta’s contribution to the island is not all business, however, as the entity continues to deliver on its corporate responsibility as industry leaders in the Caribbean, “We are very live in the communities in Nevis… we sponsored an entire weekend of the WindFest festival in the St James Parish of Nevis,” Mr Sylvester revealed.

Delta Petroleum plans to launch additional flagship service stations in other islands in the near future as well.