Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil firm, is eyeing to offer around 32,300 petrol pumps to a joint venture company with Malaysian government-owned Petronas to monetize its extensive network for fuel marketing, as stated by its company’s Finance Director, S K Gupta.
IOC, Petronas has had the joint business arrangement, IndianOil Petronas Private Limited (IPPL), for more than two decades now, primarily for importing LPG. The reach of the joint venture is now being augmented to incorporate natural gas and fuel marketing.
It is to be noted that IPPL won’t be controlled by the monotonous allotment rules of the petrol pump which appoints dealers of oil marketing companies in the public sector through a lottery draw. The joint venture can select a site and an operator directly on commercial conditions.
IPPL can establish petrol pumps that will sell petrol & diesel and also have EV charging and battery interchanging points along with CNG/LPG & LNG dispensing stations.
IPPL presently sells LPG to customers from the commercial sector who are not permitted to avail of subsidized cooking gas sold by state energy companies to households.
IOC has ownership of 32,303 from 77,709 petrol pumps in the country. It also has licenses to retail piped cooking gas to households and CNG to automobiles in many geographical areas.
S M Vaidya, IOC’s Chairman, had recently stated that IPPL will have its branding and marketing. He further expressed that India’s energy demand is increasing and there will be space for everybody, and that IOC’s market share is unchallenged and IPPL is set to grab upcoming opportunities.
IPPL will be the country’s 7th fuel retailer. Apart from IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are the other two public sector, fuel retailers.
IPPL also boasts of being one of the top parallel marketers of butane/propane/LPG in India.
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