Three gas stations in St. Albert could come under new management after Husky Energy announced it was considering selling off all its stations.
“They’re still valuable assets and we expect they will gain strong interest from possible buyers,” said Mel Duvall, company spokesperson, during a phone interview Thursday.
The decision is being considered as part of an internal strategic review of the company.
If its Canadian retail and commercial fuel businesses sell, Duvall said Husky Energy would focus on its core production assets in northern Alberta, Atlantic Canada and the Asia Pacific region.
One analyst said Husky is trying to get out of the money-losing business of selling gas.
“There’s no money in selling gasoline,” said Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst with Gasbuddy.com. “Staying viable in the business, you have to have a different marketing plan centered around products that have nothing to do with gasoline.”
McTeague said most stations lose money since they price the fuel for less than the wholesale amount in a bid to compete against each other for customers.
As of Friday morning, most gas stations in St. Albert were selling fuel between 86 cents per litre and 95 cents per litre.
In comparison, the wholesale price of gas, including tax, is 87 or 88 cents per litre. That’s not including the extra cost on the retailer when people pay with a credit card, McTeague explained.
Instead, gas retailers often make money back by selling products – such as food and beverages – within the store. There’s also a small amount of revenue gathered from diesel and premium fuels.
“If I have a network of gas stations, I’m losing money at all of them, unless I’m selling a lot of potato chips or beef jerky,” McTeague noted.
In November of 2017, the Alberta NDP announced a new bill that would implement pre-payment for fuel at all gas stations in the province. The purpose was to stomp down on gas theft.
In 2014, gas theft was a top priority for the St. Albert RCMP. As they consulted different gas stations about pre-payment, they heard mixed reviews.
Cpl. Laurel Kading, who spoke with the Gazette at the time of the NDP's bill announcement, noted some gas station managers were concerned profits would go down, since people often make additional purchases when they go inside the store to pay.
McTeague said the provincial legislation most likely wasn’t the root cause of Husky’s decision, but it could have played a minor role.
“It may be (a) question of death by a thousand cuts, a number of reasons,” he said.
During a phone interview on Thursday, Duvall if they don’t find a seller Husky would continue to own and operate the retail stations.
But McTeague believes a sale could come quickly.
“I’m sure they’ll find buyers, I’m just not sure the buyers will satisfy the Competition Bureau’s concern about dominance by one or two players in any given market.”
Duvall said the company had a profitable year among its gas stations. He added the sale would not impact current staff or customers.
Husky Energy’s headquarters is located in Calgary. The oil and gas giant currently has more than 500 gas stations across Canada. It’s also looking to sell one of its refineries located in Prince George.
No managers of the three gas stations in St. Albert were immediately available for comment.
