Identifying local suppliers for an oil and gas operator

What is shaping petroleum, oil & gas

Oil marketing companies, lubricant brands and city gas distributors compete on forecourt experience, product trust and mechanic recommendations.

• Forecourt experience shapes fuel brand loyalty
• Mechanics drive lubricant brand choice
• City gas adoption depends on safety confidence and convenience

An oil and gas operator, working in Saudi Arabia, Qatar & Egypt. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

An oil and gas operator

Sector

Petroleum, oil & gas

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Business panel, Research consultancy, Data analytics & dashboards

National content requirements encouraged operators to source locally, but the operator lacked an up-to-date view of local suppliers’ capabilities. Procurement teams relied on outdated supplier lists, and some local firms had grown capabilities that the operator did not know about.

• Deliver on the brief: identifying local suppliers for an oil and gas operator.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of suppliers screened.
• Uncover the motivations and barriers people do not state in a survey.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 10 weeks.

The work focused on 250 suppliers screened.

• suppliers screened250

Audiences we typically reach in petroleum, oil & gas

Fuel customersForecourt staff and dealersMechanics and workshopsFleet ownersCity gas customers

Coverage: Saudi Arabia, Qatar & Egypt. Markets: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.

• Saudi Arabia
• Qatar
• Egypt

A qualitative design, built to uncover motivations, decision processes and the language people actually use.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Supplier screening
3. 3Capability interviews
4. 4Insight

We screened suppliers of equipment, fabrication and services, interviewed promising firms about certifications and capacity, and built a searchable database. Site visits verified capabilities of shortlisted suppliers, and the database recorded certifications with expiry dates. Interviews were conducted in Arabic and English, and suppliers were rated on capability, certification and capacity.

Business panelResearch consultancyData analytics & dashboards

suppliers screened

250

• Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

interviewed

70

• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping
• Interactive dashboard for ongoing tracking

• Verified capability data made localisation targets realistic.

• Build on the core insight: verified capability data made localisation targets realistic.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The operator identified new local suppliers for several categories and planned supplier development for others.
• Several local suppliers were added to approved vendor lists after qualification.
• The database was updated quarterly so procurement teams always had current information.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interactive dashboard

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: which lubricant brands do mechanics push?