Gull Bioethanol passes 5 million litre mark

Gull announced today that it has purchased over five million litres of bioethanol from Anchor Ethanol – that’s equivalent to almost three Olympic sized swimming pools. This milestone means the ethanol used in Gull biofuels has saved over 7000 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.

Gull launched its first biofuel, Gull Force 10 in August 2007 and followed this with the launch of Gull Regular Plus in 2008.

Karl Mischewski, Gull’s Sustainability Champion, says the bioethanol milestone is a clear example of Kiwi motorists making the right decisions for their cars, wallets and the environment.

“Gull is serious about sustainability and dedicated to lower emissions and fuel prices,” says Mischewski.

“There are many opportunities for each of us to reduce our carbon footprint, and choosing biofuels is an obvious and easy example. Every month more than 140,000 Kiwi motorists make that choice at Gull.”

The fuel-grade ethanol supplied by Anchor Ethanol, a subsidiary of leading dairy producer Fonterra, is produced from whey, a natural by-product of its dairy operations.

Gary Romano, Managing Director of Fonterra Trade and Operations, congratulated Gull on its ongoing commitment to sustainable fuel options for New Zealanders.

“The production and adoption of biofuels in New Zealand is an important step in our collective approach to tackling energy efficiency and climate change issues. Climate change and sustainability are issues that affect every sector of the economy and like Gull, Fonterra is playing an active role in addressing them.”

High octane Gull Force 10 is available at all Gull New Zealand sites, and Gull Regular Plus, the 91 octane biofuel option, is currently available at eight Gull sites with plans to introduce to additional sites in the near future.

The five million litres of bioethanol is also equivalent to 3,600 family vehicles not buying and using petrol for a year, therefore significantly decreasing vehicle emissions.


To mark this milestone, Gull will discount both biofuels, Gull Force 10 and Gull Regular Plus, by five cents per litre from Thursday 22 April at 7am until Friday 23 April at 10am.

At the majority of Gull outlets where Gull controls retail prices, prices are as follows:

Gull Regular Plus (91 Octane) $1.749
Gull Force 10 (98 Octane) $1.889 

About Gull
Gull Petroleum was founded in 1976 with a single service station by a group of business people in Western Australia who saw the potential for an independent supplier. Rationalisation by the major oil companies at the time offered Gull the opportunity of obtaining sites considered unviable by the multi-nationals. Adherence to a philosophy of low cost management, prudent investment decisions and a carefully planned marketing strategy enabled Gull to increase its number of outlets to thirty-five by 1984, when ownership of the company was consolidated with the Rae family. Since, Gull has expanded its network to nearly 100 service stations. It has become a serious player, offering a real choice for motorists in an extremely competitive market. The company remains today a fully family-owned operation. Gull Petroleum recently announced that it plans to install 3 electric vehicle (EV) recharging stations in Perth in mid 2010, as part of an electric vehicle research project led by University of Western Australia.

Gull in New Zealand
Gull started operations in New Zealand with the building of a state of the art terminal in Mount Maunganui in 1998. Tanks were relocated from Marsden Point by barge, a feat the opposition said was “impossible”. Gull made the first retail sales of petrol in 1999 and has grown the network to 40 branded sites. Gull was the first company to introduce low sulphur diesel to the New Zealand market bringing environmental benefits well ahead of the opposition. In August 2007 Gull again set new environmental benchmarks for the industry with the first retail sale of Gull Force 10, New Zealand’s first biofuel, 10% ethanol mixed with premium gasoline giving higher octane and cleaner performance. Gull is the only family-owned oil company operating in New Zealand with a history in excess of ten years and is credited with keeping the fuel market competitive and providing savings to the Kiwi motorist. For more information please visit www.gull.biz


About Fonterra
Fonterra is a global leader in dairy nutrition – the preferred supplier of dairy ingredients to many of the world’s leading food companies. Fonterra is also a market leader with our own consumer dairy brands in Australia/New Zealand, Asia/Africa, Middle East and Latin America.

The farmer-owned New Zealand co-operative is the largest processor of milk in the world, producing more than two million tonnes of dairy ingredients, value added dairy ingredients, specialty ingredients and consumer products every year. Drawing on generations of dairy expertise, Fonterra is one of the largest investors in dairy based research and innovation in the world. Our 16,000 staff work across the dairy spectrum from advising farmers on sustainable farming and milk production, to ensuring we live up to exacting quality standards and delivering every day on our customer promise in more than 100 markets around the world.