OSCAR Downstream: relentless learning, entrepreneurial thinking, and constant innovation

Working continuously on several strategic objectives to consolidate its business, OSCAR Downstream is the only Romanian company in the top 5 of Oil & Gas players. Business Review sat down with Nicolae Banica, the CEO of OSCAR Downstream, and discovered the secrets behind the company’s success over its 22 years of existence.

By Anda Sebesi

What is your leadership style and how does it support your company’s performance?

OSCAR Downstream is an entrepreneurial business built on strong family values. Our culture is defined by loyalty, respect, care, and the power of example. Before I was CEO, I spent years learning about the OSCAR Downstream business at all levels. I built my career from the ground up, working in several departments and learning from people of different experiences and various seniorities. I believe leaders never stop learning and I do my best to surround myself with professionals who inspire me while holding on to the drive for continuous improvement, entrepreneurial thinking, and innovation.

This is the spirit that has turned a very daring idea our founder Alin Nicolae had 22 years ago—to take on a market that was dominated by multinationals—into the successful company we are today.

What were your main professional achievements in 2023?

Last year, we kicked off the implementation of our national digitalization strategy, aimed at streamlining operations and customer interactions. At the centre of this strategy stands our new, high performing fleet card management platform, which uses upgraded OSCAR cards equipped with the latest contactless technology, unique to the Romanian fuel market. We also implemented automated processes at our B2B fuel stations. This initiative is aimed at providing customers with a fully digital experience and significantly reduced refuelling times at the station—a critical factor to our customers’ B2B fleets. At the same time, we continued to strengthen our logistics capabilities for storage and fuel distribution. In recent years, we have invested more than EUR 50 million to develop the most significant, fully integrated, in-house logistics chain on the Romanian fuel distribution market. This gives us full control over the distribution flow and the quality of products and services we promise customers. Civic involvement remained a key area of focus for our team throughout the year. We renewed our commitment to partners and projects close to our heart, such as Gandit in Romania and Caravana Reciclarii Creative, and we proudly continued the OSCAR tradition of volunteering. Last September, the management team, myself included, joined 110 colleagues in Bran to do refurbishing works at the Sextil Puscariu high school, which 500 children attend every year. This year we supported the planting with forest saplings of 5 hectares of land in Cenei (Timis) and Lapos (Prahova).

What were the biggest challenges your business sector faced last year and how did you navigate them?

Our main concern last year was to protect end customers from the consequences of geopolitical instability, which caused unprecedented fluctuations in oil prices. We did this through an effective procurement and cost control strategy. As the global supply chain faced increasing security risks, a top priority for us was to prevent any disruption to operational flows and deliver the necessary fuel on time. I believe there is opportunity in every challenge, therefore no crisis should be wasted. We’ve therefore decided to accelerate our investment and further push on innovative projects, to consolidate our foothold, and emerge stronger for the upcoming growth cycle.

Goals for 2024:

Strengthen our integrated logistics chain by investing in additional storage capacity;
Further expand our national network (OSCAR Drive, the RO franchise and DIESEL point, the in-house fuelling stations used by OSCAR customers);
Enter the retail market and open the first OSCAR stations by the end of the year.