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India: State-owned fuel retailers to open 3,100 gas stations

India's state-owned fuel retailing companies are to spend R2,500 crore (USD375 million) to open about 3,100 gas stations as they try to fend off private operators.



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The country´s state oil marketing companies (OMCs) believe 2016 will see the full impact of the diesel price deregulation introduced in October 2014, with private retailers stepping up competition.

The three main OMCs – Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. – account for 95% of all diesel and petrol sales in India, reported Live Mint.

Private retailers were forced out of the market due to the amount of subsidies the state-owned companies received. Now that the subsidies on diesel have been ditched and the market offers better conditions, private retailers such as Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are being tempted back into the gas stations business.

The second largest fuel retailer, Hindustan Petroleum, which opened 590 outlets last year, plans to open a further 800 sites this fiscal year.

Bharat Petroleum plans to match that number by opening around 800 outlets this year. It opened 630 outlets last year, while it has automated 8,000 of its 13,000 odd forecourts so far. 

Finally, Indian Oil Corp., the county´s largest fuel retailer, will open around 1,500 fuel retail outlets this fiscal year against around 1,100 last year 

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