"DON'T become an entrepreneur to make money, but be one because you want something you enjoy doing. That way, you will ultimately make money," says Robert Chandran, the Oil and Gas Entrepreneur of the Year. "Otherwise, it's going to be a pain in the butt."

"Because this is a 24/7, 365 days a year thing which you are going to do for two to three decades of your life."

He should know - he wakes up at 4.30am and his working day usually doesn't end till 10pm.

Ironically, this advice to would-be entrepreneurs comes from someone who confesses that he used to hate business.

"Now, here I am, running my own business and enjoying every bit of it."

Mr Chandran, founder and chief executive of marine fuels supplier Chemoil Energy - which calls itself a "gas station for ships" - has grown the company from a US$120,000 business to one with a market capitalisation of about US$700 million today.

The Singapore-listed company is just about to start trial operations next month at its spanking new Helios Terminal on Jurong Island - a US$122 million oil terminal with 450,000 cubic metres of oil storage capacity.

Apart from operating Helios in Singapore, the world's largest bunker port, it has another joint-venture terminal in Fujairah - the second-largest bunker port - in which it is investing a further US$60 million to boost capacity six-fold to 326,000 cu m. A terminal at Panama is next.

This doesn't include its gasoline, diesel and jet fuel operations in the US, with the company also "starting to dabble" in the electricity market.

So why did he hate business initially?

It all goes back to his childhood in India. His family owned a paper distribution business, and during summer holidays, instead of playing cricket, he had to sit in the warehouse with the accountant and count paper bales as they arrived.

It was an old-school Asian family business "where underlings had to suffer a bit under the guru to learn," he says.

And from age 13 till he left for college at 17, he did just that. He had to attend business meetings where he was made to stand in a corner, "I couldn't even sit," he laments, and his father would later quiz him about it.

"I didn't set out be a businessman. I actually wanted to be a medical doctor," said Bob, as he's known to his staff. But he didn't make the cut for medical school and instead opted for science and chemistry majors.

"But the turning point in my life came when I lost my mother at the age of 20. It really had a big effect on me. I just wanted to get out of India."

At that time, he was offered two overseas scholarships, one in cancer research and the other in organic chemistry, both of which started in the fall term in September. But a third from the Asian Institute of Management in Manila began earlier in May.

In his hurry to leave India, he opted for the Philippines in 1972.

"My view of business changed after I went to business school," he said. With his studies behind him, Mr Chandran went on to work for a chemicals company, Transchem, for two years in Manila, before transferring to San Francisco where the company also had an office.

That was when he ventured "part-time" on weekends into the real estate business, buying his first house in 1976 and ending up with 740 apartments by 1981. "I just bought and sold while my wife managed the properties." That marked his first real taste of business, and also business success.

Then came Chemoil, or what was to lead to his oil and gas business today.

"My employer Transchem was trading in chemicals and machinery, and its foray into marine fuels was by accident as the company had a freight contract in 1979 during the oil crisis and the shipowners wanted a fuel escalation clause included.

"I told the shipowners okay, provided I supplied the oil. And that started the business for us in Transchem.

"That gave me insights into the marine fuels business, and two years later I started Chemoil. It was meant to do both chemicals and oil, hence its name," he said.

"But while the oil business took off, I haven't sold a tonne of chemicals!"

Mr Chandran has come a long way since then. Today, Chemoil occupies sprawling premises on the 36th floor of Millenia Tower, where it has a spectacular view of the giant wheel of the Singapore Flyer.

So what makes a good entrepreneur?

"Entrepreneurs are generally positive people. They look at issues as a glass that's half full, not half empty," he says. "They also tend to have a very different concept of risk from the average man, and manage risk very efficiently. They always have an exit strategy, at every stage of the business, if things don't work out."

For instance, Mr Chandran views the recent gyration in oil prices as an opportunity rather than a threat. As an oil trader, volatility is usually your friend, he says.

"There is of course no free lunch, and you can lose money just as easily as you make it. You have to be able to take risks," he says of the oil business, which he considers highly complex.

But it is clear Mr Chandran is not one to duck risks.

Asked what he hopes Chemoil will be eventually, he states without hesitation: "A fully integrated energy company, owning terminals, barges and ships, and providing unique solutions to shipowners. That's what our company slogan says: Delivering energy."

"We need to stay relevant to our customers," he stresses, saying it needs to provide value-add. Its recent deal with JP Morgan to give its marine clients access to the US bank's derivatives business, with the bank at the same time benefiting from Chemoil's physical fuel supplies, is an illustration of this.

"And not far away, we could be starting biofuels in the Philippines or Indonesia," said Mr Chandran, dropping a hint about his potential next big thing.

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