The Hindu : IOC plans for new petrol pumps

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 02, 2003

Business

Business

IOC plans for new petrol pumps

NEW DELHI MAY 1. The Indian Oil Corporation plans to invest about Rs. 1,500 crores this year for setting up about 1,000 petrol stations and improving its retail infrastructure before competition from private retailers such as Reliance Industries and Royal/Dutch Shell sets in.

"We plan to add another 1,000 petrol stations in a year's time, apart from revamping some of the existing ones,'' the IOC Director (Marketing), P. K. Agarwal, told PTI. IOC now has 7,961 outlets across the country.

IOC plans to expand its presence along the National and State highways, a market segment being eyed the most by new entrants like Reliance.

"We plan to improve our network in cities where we do not have adequate presence. This includes some parts of Mumbai and the B-sites or smaller cities and important towns across the country,'' he said. Though the oil companies are practically free to formulate their own retail plans after deregulation, the Government had put on hold plans of all state-owned oil retailers for setting up petrol stations in the aftermath of the petrol pump allotment scam last year. Oil companies have since then formulated guidelines for allotment of petrol stations but they are yet to be approved by the Petroleum Ministry as state-owned firms are disinclined to continue with the policy of reserving petrol pumps and LPG selling agencies for weaker sections. — PTI

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