New Delhi, Dec 02: Petrol and diesel retailing is set to see major change next year when private and multinational companies will begin selling petrol and diesel. Reliance Industries Ltd, Essar Oil Ltd and Royal Dutch/Shell will next year break the public sector monopoly in petro-retailing. These companies have said they would set up world-class petrol stations.
While RIL will commission 500 petrol stations by March end, world's third largest oil firm Royal Dutch/Shell will begin retailing in the second half of 2004. Essar, which has already set up three sample petrol pumps in Maharashtra and Gujarat, would commission at least 600 more outlets in 2004.
"Reliance has informed us that they will set up 500 petrol pumps by march 2004," Petroleum Secretary B K Chaturvedi said on the sidelines of a conference here.
The company has been granted a licence to set up 5849 petrol stations across the country.
Shell India chairman Vikram S Mehta said the first tranche of the 2000 retail outlets the firm has received authorisation for would come up in second half of 2004 and demanded that public sector distribution infrastructure like pipelines and storage depots be leased to private sector for catalysing the competitive environment.
Bureau Report