MRPL plans to roll out 500 fuel outlets in India

“After the government de-regulated the prices of petrol we are planning to revive our plans to open retail fuel outlets. We have license to open 500 retail outlets” said U K Basu, managing director, MRPL. “Our focus will be Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa for setting up retail outlets,” Basu said without divulging the investment and the time period that the company will take to roll out the outlets.

In 2008 MRPL was working on 20 locations in Karnataka to set up its retail outlets before it put the plan off, as the company could not compete with the subsidised retail outlets of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.

After the government freed petrol prices in the country on June 25, private players like Essar, Reliance Industries Ltd among others have also decided to revive their plans to set up retail fuel outlets in the country.

The government is now working on the periodicity of the retail price revision for the oil marketing companies and the final decision would be taken by the end of this month.

Also, MRPL has renewed its agreement to supply petroleum products to State Trading Corp of Mauritius for three years starting August. “The product comprising jet fuel, gas oil and furnace oil will be supplied for a period of three years and the total value of this deal at current prices is $2 billion,” the company said. MRPL will supply 1.1 million tonne refined products annually to Mauritius.