Royal Dutch Shell's Thai unit is embarking on a 1-billion-baht investment programme to revamp and increase the number of its service stations next year.
Grant McGregor, the new general manager for retail sales and operations of Shell, said the company plans to develop more innovative products.
Pissawan Achanapornkul, new general manager for retail sales and operations at The Shell Company of Thailand, said Shell has 560 service stations, of which 200 are modernised.
Shell usually opens around 10 new stations each year, and another 100 stations will be revamped next year, she said.
Shell has partnered with Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) in order to have CP Food Markets featured in selected Shell petrol stations, with the first market scheduled to open later this month. CPF will invest around 10-20 million baht per station.
The first station will be changed from a Select convenience store.
"We don't know how many petrol stations will include CP Food Markets. We'll evaluate the customer response after three to six months," said Mrs Pissawan. "Our main business is still selling petrol."
She refused to provide the percentage of company revenue from non-oil products.
Service stations with non-oil products will be focused on highways.
Mrs Pissawan said the demand for energy next year should grow in line with economic growth, especially with the government's first-time car buyer scheme expected to exceed 800,000 orders.
Grant McGregor, the new general manager for retail sales and operations at Shell, said this creates a challenge for the company to innovate, developing products like Fuel Save so people will consume less energy.