OREANDA-NEWS. December 11, 2014. Gas stations in Karamay city began installing self-service fueling dispensers since October. At that time, 60 percent of the gas stations in the city had finished installing those facilities. In Karamay’s city center, 23 self-service fueling dispensers have been installed, Karamay Daily reported.

“In the Xinjiang region, self-service fueling equipment is in the market promotion stage. The fueling dispensers can largely reduce customer wait time and avoid disputes between customers and refueling workers. The installation percentage of fueling dispensers is expected to reach 90 percent by 2016,” said Ni Tao, chairman of the Karamay sales branch of Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in the Xinjiang region.

At present, the fueling dispensers only serve customers with CNPC gas filling cards in Karamay, and customers will have a discount of 0.05 yuan per litre. “However, even though more than 50 percent of our customers have the gas filling cards, very few of them would use the self-service dispensers,” said Ni.

A sample survey on the self-service fueling dispenser shows that only one-third of the customers know about the service, and only one of them had used the facility. Meanwhile, 80 percent said they didn’t know how to use the self-service dispensers, and they also worried that improper operation might cause an oil leak accident. In regard to this problem, Ni said that the self-service fueling dispensers have received safety examination and reconstruction. The CNPC’s Karamay branch would strengthen the market promotion of self-service fueling dispensers.