Possibly the oldest petrol station in Singapore, the Caltex petrol kiosk along Woodlands Road has wound up the business after decades of service.
Said to have started its business in the late fifties, the station looks lost in time with a shelter that badly needs a new paint job and old-styled petrol pumps. It also does not have a minimart unlike other modern petrol stations in Singapore.
In the past, this small Caltex petrol station used to serve those that travel to Malaysia using Woodlands Road. After Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) was built to link directly to the causeway, the road has seen considerably lesser traffic in the last twenty years.
The Esso service station at Jalan Kayu, being the only petrol station in this area, is still going on strong after at least three decades. Vacuum Oil, the former body of ExxonMobil, launched its trading post in Singapore as early as 1893. It opened its first service station at Pasir Panjang in 1964, and was the first petrol company to introduce the minmart concept at its petrol station.
Singapore’s first oil refinery was set up in 1961 by Shell, which has started its business in Singapore in 1891. Caltex, on the other hand, first made its establishment here in 1933.
Published: 16 April 2011
And so the Caltex petrol kiosk has closed… I used to pass by there… =)
The picture (showing EssoGas) shows the wall in front of the LPG (Esso Gas) bottling centre. The petrol station is on the right beyond the picture and your picture only shows the entrance and roadway to the station. The station was renovated in mid 1990′s. At the extreme right of the station is a large drain. Beyond the drain is an unused plot which belongs to Esso. Esso got rid of the squatter that was there for a number of years. The land is freehold. This was one of the smallest Esso stations under company operations. The one at Lavender Street is probably the smallest but that is operated by a dealer. It used to close shop at 9 or 10 pm each night.