Emirates Petroleum Product Company (Eppco), the UAE’s leading petroleum retailer, said 10 fuel stations in its network will introduce fuel self-service from midnight to 6am starting from tomorrow (July 4).

The self-service fuel dispensing system is being introduced at the Eppco stations located along Al Wasl Road, Oud Metha Road, Sheikh Zayed Road coming from Abu Dhabi, Mankhool Road, Al Nahda Road, Nadd Al Hammar and Al Qusais, which have relatively low footfall during night hours, said a statement from the company.

The initiative is part of Eppco’s strategy to introduce advanced and automated refuelling facilities and to familiarise the public with the self-service concept, which is being planned to be introduced across its other stations in due course, it stated.

With this, customers can fill their required fuel themselves at the selected stations and pay inside the Zoom stores.

Advanced and fully secure fuel dispenser systems have been introduced at the sites that are easier to use for the motorists.

New technologies for payment that will add to the convenience of motorists are also being planned, which will be announced as and when finalised. All the systems are being developed in line with international standards and after extensive market research, the statement added.

Commenting on the move, a company spokesperson said, “The new system will make fuel dispensing facilities in our stations on par with globally accepted practices. We will continue to assist customers, where needed, in using the facility until they are confident of refuelling themselves."

"By introducing the facility during night hours, there will be minimal inconvenience for our customers," the official stated.

The introduction of self-service will result in no staff redundancies as affected staff members will be deployed in other stations within the network, said the spokesperson.-TradeArabia News Service