PARADISE, Westmoreland — Regency Petroleum Limited (RPL), a locally owned service station which has its roots in Westmoreland, is in expansion mode.

It opened the second of four planned locations recently, and founder and CEO Andrew Williams said the goal is to become a multinational.

“We started out from the ground and we are working our way up,” he said during the grand opening of the company’s service station in Paradise, Westmoreland, last Wednesday.

RPL currently operates in Savanna-la-Mar, but the Paradise location is the first of three that will provide full service. Williams explained that it will be open to the public between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm, with self-service available outside those hours.

“We want to start out with every aspect of business operations being [like] a First World company. Our service is a necessity; we acknowledge that and we want our patrons to experience our service. We don’t want to limit the service offered,” he said.

Wednesday’s opening of RPL’s Paradise location places the company a step closer to establishing its vision of becoming a leading petroleum provider. The station will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including advanced fuel-dispensing technology, a convenience store, and a café that can be used as a workspace.

Two other stations are currently being constructed — one in Negril, Westmoreland, and the other on Spanish Town Road in Kingston. Williams said the Negril branch is expected to open its doors in November. He said the one in Kingston is approximately 10 per cent complete.

While not providing the exact price tag for constructing the Paradise station, Williams said such a facility can cost between $130 to 170 million, depending on the US exchange rate. He said this is because some of the equipment is imported.

In his address during the grand opening, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz noted that because Jamaica is not able to subsidise the cost of diesel and fuel, the strategy is to embrace other options to improve efficiency and affordability.

“As we face the serious challenges of climate change it is imperative that we explore cleaner, more sustainable and affordable alternatives. LPG — with its versatility, efficiency, and ability of reducing carbon emissions — represents a significant step towards achieving one of the Government’s environmental goals,” stated Vaz.

The minister said RPL’s range of fuel products is in line with this shift, and noted that the company has also incorporated a charging station to provide service for those with electric vehicles.

Also during the event, Vaz encouraged the company to make road safety one of its priorities. He noted that keeping drivers safe, secure, and in good health on the road is not only vital to RPL’s business but is one of the country’s greatest concerns.

“Your staff and contractors drive thousands of kilometres each year to deliver products to customers or to keep operations running so getting road safety right must be a priority and a serious challenge,” stated the minister.

“Establishing long-term and interim safety performance goals and targets — supported by action plans that set out the specific interventions needed to achieve them — is one way of establishing international good practices. You can add to this through the implementation of training programmes and by limiting your drivers” journeys,” he added.

RPL, which is listed publicly on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange currently operates two entities — automotive petroleum service stations and the sale of LPG/ cooking gas.