Caltex: Retailers took us to court over a dispute

Chevron Malaysia says the contracts of only six Caltex petrol station operators were terminated, and that it does not plan to meet the retailers over the termination.

KUALA LUMPUR: Chevron Malaysia Ltd has finally revealed the main reason it terminated the contract of some of its retailers.

It also clarified that it had only terminated the contracts of six Caltex petrol station operators, and not 15 as claimed by the group complaining against the company.

The group had claimed they were in the dark over why they had been told to shut down by June 30. They said about 200 people would be out of jobs.

Chevron told FMT in a statement that a group of the retailers had brought a lawsuit against Chevron in 2008, which finally came to a conclusion at the end of 2016.

Replying to the refutation by the retailers that Chevron had tried its best to resolve the issue amicably, and claims that Chevron did not entertain their queries, the company said:

“Throughout the years, Chevron had made various attempts to resolve the matter amicably but was rebuffed by these retailers.

“Chevron, therefore, had no choice but to defend its position in court which ultimately led to the Federal Court award in our favour.”

It did not give details of the court case.

On the affected retailers and the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia’s stand that Chevron’s earlier explanation that it was a “business decision” was unacceptable and that details had not been given, the company said:

“Under the contract, Chevron is not legally obliged to provide any reason for the terminations. Our position is that both parties should abide strictly with the contract provisions.”

Saying it carried out regular reviews of retailer agreements, Chevron added that “a multitude of factors are considered by the company when it comes to evaluating whether a retailer contract should be continued or terminated. The reasons for termination of each contract also differ”.

On whether it planned to meet the affected retailers, Chevron said it was “unable to accommodate” the retailers’ request for further explanation as, under the contract, it was not legally required to do so.

“The decision to terminate the contracts has been communicated and the termination process was carried out in accordance to the contractual agreement between the parties,” it added.

According to its website, Chevron has 420 Caltex service stations at strategic locations across Peninsular Malaysia. -FMT