INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved opening up fuel retailing norms to
non-oil companies to set up petrol pumps.Briefing reporters about the decisions taken by the Cabinet, I-B Minister Prakash Javadekar said
the opening up the fuel retailing will increase investment and competition
At present, to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India, a company needs to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and
production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals."The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved
review of guidelines for giving authorisation for marketing of transportation fuel," he said
Companies with Rs 250 crore turnover can enter fuel retailing, subject to condition that 5 per cent of the outlets will be in rural
areas.State-owned oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL)
- currently own most of 65,000 petrol pumps in the country.Reliance Industries, Nayara Energy - formerly Essar Oil and Royal Dutch Shell are
the private players in the market but with limited presence
Reliance, which operates the world's largest oil refining complex, has less than 1,400 outlets.Follow TheIndianSubcontinent for latest
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