(PTI)
The government plan to more than double the number of petrol pumps in the country does not make economic sense as more number of outlets would only cut into each other’s sale, leading to some unprofitable, Crisil Research said in a report Thursday.
The three public sector oil marketing firms – Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) – in November last year advertised to open 78,493 more petrol pumps in the in the country. This on top of 64,624 fuel retail outlets currently operating in the country.
“Apart from expansion spree by public sector OMCs, private players are adding fuel retail outlets as well. The joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc, and Nayara Energy Ltd (formerly Essar Oil Ltd have plans to add 2,000 pumps each in the next three years, whereas Royal Dutch Shell Plc is slated to add 150-200 petrol pumps over the period as well,” the report said.
