When making its business decisions, Petrol d.o.o. Beograd takes into account environmental and social consequences. Through its business, the company takes special care of people and the environment, and makes sure to improve the quality of life in the community in which it operates. Petrol d.o.o. Beograd is actively involved in all community service projects, and financially supports charitable and social institutions, and environmental organizations. It also supports projects of broad social importance through various activities and sponsorships. The goal is to help those that need help, so Petrol d.o.o. Beograd supports many organizations and promotes sports and cultural engagements of people and outstanding individuals, appreciating their desire to achieve certain results in their field.

The business method of the Petrol Group is based on promoting business excellence, that is, on following and complying with contemporary market demands regarding services, IT, and environmental protection.

The Group is distinguished primarily by the quality of its goods and services, its high reputation, established brands, and stable financial standing.

1. Mr. Bjelan, where were you born? Where did you grow up and go to school?

I was born in Ljubljana. I grew up in a city called Kočevje, located 60km from Ljubljana. That is where I finished elementary school and the high school of economics. Since there is no faculty in Kočevje, I continued my education in Ljubljana, at the Faculty of Economics, where I completed my graduate studies in business sciences.

2. How did your career develop before you became the CEO of Petrol? How long have you held that position?

I started working in Petrol d.d. Ljubljana as a student and I was initially in charge of monitoring the sales of natural gas. After a year of working in the field of natural gas, I went to the LPG sector, where I was employed on a full-time basis on October 1, 2009. In that sector, I was in charge of LPG logistics, from storage to final consumers. After two years of working in the mentioned sector, I was again transferred to the natural gas sector, as an analyst. My main tasks were calculating and tracking natural gas prices, constantly communicating with consumers, and communicating with the Slovenian Energy Agency. A new opportunity arose on April 1, 2013, and that is when I became the CEO of Beogas d.o.o. Beograd, which is 100% owned by Petrol d.d. Ljubljana. Beogas d.o.o. is a company dealing with the construction and maintenance of pipelines and distribution of natural gas in the areas of Čukarica, Palilula, and Voždovac. After only two years in Beogas, I became the CEO of Petrol d.o.o. Beograd, which trades in oil, oil derivatives and other goods in Serbia, and is also 100% owned by Petrol d.d. Ljubljana.

3. What is the basis of all business activities of the Petrol Group, what is its primary area of activities, and what are the company's values?

Our vision is to have above-average satisfied customers. The customer and the quality of products and services we offer are in the focus of our attention. Petrol is an energy company, not only a company trading in oil. The strategy is based on spreading the “convenience” gas station model while spreading the energy concept in the region (electricity, natural gas and LPG, energy solutions, biomass). With its product and service suite, the Petrol Group ensures a reliable, economical and environment-friendly supply to consumers in Serbia, as well as on the South Eastern European markets. We feel a special responsibility towards our customers, suppliers, business partners, owners, and society as a whole. That is why our main goal is to provide our consumers with an optimal and competitive energy supply, while completely using all synergies of the Petrol Group, from choosing and purchasing energy sources to choosing the technological solutions for energy supply, financing, and maintenance. The ethics of contemporary business undoubtedly requires a true commitment to the community and society, as well as care for their development and progress. The Petrol Group is a successful and responsible company built on true values and stable foundations. With its highly qualified personnel, by achieving positive business results, fulfilling legal regulations and obligations towards society, using established standards for quality systems, using natural and other resources rationally, with a responsible attitude towards environment protection, as well as by taking care of employees, the company has a positive effect on society and develops partner relationships with the local and wider social community. Interested in the community and society in which it operates, the Petrol Group constantly contributes to their development through a series of community service activities. This is the reason the Petrol Group will continue to develop and improve this tendency towards a socially responsible business and relationship with the community, setting an example to other companies from its business environment.

4. Petrol has the goal of becoming the leader on the Serbian market of oil derivatives by offering products and services of top quality, as well as safe working conditions. How close are you to reaching this goal?

It is hard to say that we expect to become leaders in the field of oil derivatives in Serbia. We want to be leaders in the quality of services and products we offer. We wish to offer the customer more than others, especially when it comes to oil trade – for example, lottery services, tickets to sports and cultural events, partnerships with other companies, marketing activities and benefits. There are many more opportunities for development in the field of energetics and that is the reason we are taking big steps forward in Serbia – we have opened a terminal in Smederevo, while the Beogas and Rodgas companies are expanding their networks in Belgrade, Šimanovci, Pećinci, and Bačka Topola. The company for the construction and maintenance of pipelines and distribution of gas, Beogas d.o.o. Beograd (Patrijarha Dimitrija 12v), was founded on March 13, 1998. The company is registered for the construction and maintenance of pipelines and distribution of gas, and it deals with energy activities in accordance with the methodology of the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia. The company signed a contract with the Government of the Republic of Serbia to perform activities of general interest from which licenses arise for conducting energy activities: the distribution of natural gas, the management of a distribution system for natural gas, and retail trade of natural gas to tariff customers. The company currently has about 12,000 consumers of natural gas, with annual sales of about 15,000,000m³ of natural gas. In Beogas, we plan about 250 new connections and 6km of additions to the distribution network annually. Rodgas is located in the municipality of Bačka Topola and was founded on February 17, 1994. The company’s main activity is the distribution of fuel gases through pipelines. Rodgas annually sells about 9,000,000m³ of natural gas and currently has about 1,300 consumers. Rodgas owns a network with about 150km of pipelines.

In the field of natural gas, we see many more opportunities and that is why we are planning the gasification of several more municipalities in Belgrade and other larger cities in Serbia. Of course, there is also our Eltek Petrol company, which offers the best energy solutions.

The Petrol Group in Serbia has a mission to meet the needs of its users with the quality of its services, by providing the energy source of the future, the most cost-effective energy source, conveniences, and cost management. The most contemporary standards are applied as we provide an environment-friendly energy source, a replacement to expensive energy sources with the most cost-effective energy source, and export expensive energy sources (electricity). Our care for employees is reflected in providing stable and perspective jobs, the possibility of professional development and advancement, and maintaining a high level of social responsibility in the company.

We strive to meet the interests of our partners, contractors, and suppliers in order to implement our work and development programs.

When it comes to our goals, we must admit that we have set ourselves high goals and that we are marching to accomplish them.With every new day, new business ideas are created regarding oil, but also regarding energetics and with those ideas our goals keep expanding, which confirms that we have a strong will to become leaders in the service and product quality we offer.

5. Petrol d.o.o. is a member of the Petrol Group. How many gas stations do you have in Serbia and how many people do you employ?

Petrol has 8 gas stations in Serbia so far and more than 100 employees in Serbia are members of the Petrol family.

6. What business results did you achieve in 2014? Were they different from what was expected and by how much?

According to the annual report for 2014, the Petrol Group had revenue of around EUR 100 million in Serbia. Out of that, 74.6 million is in relation to the revenue of Petrol d.o.o. Beograd, Rodgas a.d. 3.5 million, Gas Group d.o.o. 0.13 million, Petrol LPG d.o.o. 23 million, and Beogas d.o.o. 5.3 million. The results are better than in 2013 by almost 40% in total and we can say that they are in accordance with the plans.

7. What are the plans for future investments and expansion of the business volume in Serbia? What will be the pace of developing the retail network? What are the strategic locations for you in Serbia?

The main strategic development directions for the Petrol Group are the activities with which we would like to become the largest and most unique regional group in oil trade, gas storage and sales, energy, and electricity production and sales from alternative renewable sources. In our business, we are guided by the highest quality of all products and services and by a business direction with a focus on environmentally-friendly solutions which will enable sustainable growth.

As we wish for Petrol to be a competitor to the strongest and the best oil companies which are already present in Serbia, our goal is fast and controlled spreading. The speed of this process depends on the conditions in the local environment, as well as on prices.

8. How competitive are you with prices on the market? What fuel quality do you offer and are you responsible regarding environmentally-friendly fuel development?

On the Serbian market there is a daily price policy and prices are differentiated by regions, even by cities. On the basis of the pricing policy which is registered locally, Petrol strives to be competitive with prices, although sometimes major flexibility is impossible due to the fact that in acquisition we are conditioned by buying derivatives from a certain number of large sellers which use their position in the market game.

Our fuel contains additives, it is of premium quality, and constant controls which are performed in our laboratories confirm this.

On the Serbian market we are exclusively operators, so currently we are not able to deal with this subject; on the other hand, we were the first to introduce fuel with additives in Serbia, and this fuel, along with better performance, also has a higher degree of combustion, and therefore it is more environmentally-friendly.

9. Regarding social responsibility, what actions do you perform in the field of safety and environmental protection, as well as in development and implementation for rational energy utilization?

Within the Petrol Group in Serbia there is the Eltek Petrol company, which is owned by us, and the merging process of it is currently in progress. Within the Solution for energy and environment, Petrol offers its customers cooperation in improving their energy efficiency and in using alternative sources, but also within environmental care it offers advice and solutions regarding household wastewater treatment.

We offer highly efficient solutions for companies with which you can significantly improve the convenience of your residence, decrease your dependency on fossil fuels, contribute to a cleaner environment, and at the same time save a great deal on energy costs.

10. Besides the offer of various fuels at Petrol gas stations, what else do you offer to your consumers as an additional service?

In Petrol, we invest a lot in our customers. We research a lot and really like to hear what our customers want. We always want to offer them more, to try to be innovative, and our retail chain develops in this direction. Besides the additional range of offerings expected at gas stations, we also offer our customers the possibility of ticket purchasing for most sports, cultural, and concert events in the country and in the region as we belong to the chain of Eventim outlets, which is active in each of our locations. We are also a DLS outlet, and I would especially like to emphasize our coffee to go.

For legal entities, I would like to mention our gray card, which enables its users several privileges. First of all, complete cost control, deferred payment, detailed purchase records, and the issue and maintenance is free of charge. What is, by all means, a real privilege is that it can be used at all Petrol service providers in the country and in the region, therefore at more than 480 gas stations.

11. The Petrol company offers all important fuels which exceed the standards relevant for the market. Tell us more about the Petrol Qmax fuel generation?

When it comes to fuel, the Petrol company has fuels of premium quality, with additives in the whole region. In 2013, we were the first to launch our own trademark called QMAX. The development of the new fuel generation from Petrol is the result of cooperation with the renowned Afton Chemical corporation from Great Britain, which is one of the leading world additive manufacturers. Laboratory, car, and field tests performed in several developmental phases proved this.

Fuel quality control is performed continuously and we in Petrol have a positive attitude towards fuel marking since we consider that it represents a real protection of consumers because it follows the path of fuel from the wholesale storage to the gas stations.

12 The Petrol Group implements the strategy of achieving business excellence by complying with the demanding environmental criteria. What certificates do you possess?

Beogas d.o.o., a Petrol Group member, possesses the Qualityaustria certificate, which confirms the application and further development of the effective quality management system in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 standard.

13. Your job is dynamic, but difficult. How do you manage to overcome everyday stress?

After a workday, which is sometimes more than 12 hours long, comes a moment for relaxation and this is the moment when, after all work obligations, I arrive home and devote my free time to my life partner Branka, who is fully supportive of me, at all times. This is why I try to reserve weekends for her and for socializing with friends.

14. What do you do in your free time? Where do you go out?

My free time is entirely reserved for the dear people with whom I go out to places where I can relax. Those are the places with a “soul”. The places where I like to go with friends are certainly the restaurants Dijagonala, Durmitor, Zaplet, and Hacienda. When I can, I always find time for jogging in the Košutnjak park, which helps me rest from everyday obligations. I also play football once a week with my friends.

15. If you could, what would you change in your career, up until now?

I see my career up until now as a series of steps I have taken one-by-one. I took safe steps and in this way reached some of my business goals, but certainly not all. I have learned a lot on my way and gained new friends, so I wouldn’t change anything in my career up until now.