British crude oil and gas giant British Petroleum Company plc (BP) and India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are moving ahead jointly to establish as many as 2, 000 petrol pumps in India over the next three years, according to a media report.
The exact further details on the partnership between the two corporate giants is not known. The exact arrangement of the joint venture is being worked out and is expected to be decided within a few months, according to a report published by the Indian financial daily, Mint.
RIL already independently runs 1,343 petrol pumps in India whereas, BP obtained a licence to establish 3,500 fuel retail outlets in the country in 2016.
Both companies, RIL and BP are working to set up their retail outlets on the sides of the national highways as part of their business strategy to penetrate further into country’s retail market.
BP is RIL’s associate in its exploration and production ventures in India. In 2011, BP purchased a 30 per cent share in 21 oil and gas production-sharing contracts operated by RIL for £5.54 billion. The two companies are also partners in India Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd for sourcing and marketing of gas in India.
RIL has obtained license to start 5,000 petrol pumps in the country and it aims to double its market share in the fuel retail segment. At present, RIL has a 6 per cent share in India’s fuel retail market and aims to expand its market share near future.
Meanwhile, in a boost to India’s retail fuel market, BP and Reliance Industries will produce, supply 10 per cent of country’s gas requirement by 2022, BP’s chief executive, Robert Dudley said in New Delhi last week.
India imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil and 40 per cent of its gas from abroad, and aims to reduce the import bill that jumped 25.47 per cent to £84 billion during the financial year ended in March.
As of now, India has 57,312 petrol pumps, and the state-owned oil and gas companies, Indian Oil, BPCL, and HPCL are on their way to spread out their network further after a lag of nearly four years. The state-run oil companies aim to expand their network by adding nearly 50,000 fuel outlets over the next three years in the country.
