Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Feb 10, 2004 |
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Marketing
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Retailing Corporate - Announcements ONGC's retail foray delayed Archana Chaudhary
Mumbai , Feb. 9 THE Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) plans to enter the petroleum retailing business have been delayed. The company was forced to postpone plans for setting up its own petrol stations because of difficulties in acquiring suitable land. ONGC was scheduled to put up its first petrol pump at Mangalore in the latter half of 2003. It now hopes to implement its plan in the coming financial year. The corporation has a licence to set up 1,100 retail outlets across the country. "There were problems related to acquiring the chosen site in Mangalore. This delayed plans. The company is now looking at new sites," Mr Subir Raha, Chairman and Managing Director - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, told Business Line. Mr Raha said ONGC is determined to make its retail foray from Mangalore, which houses its 9.69 million-tonne refinery. He said the company would continue seeking sites in the city. Another reason for ONGC's resolution to make a retail foray from Mangalore, is the advantage of close proximity to its refinery - the main source of product availability. Also, ONGC may initially focus on the four Southern States. Its licence permits the company to set up outlets in Karnataka, Pondicherry, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. "We are doing the ground work for acquiring land at many places other than southern India. The company has already tied up with other oil PSUs for product supplies in areas farther away from the refinery. So product availability across the country will not be a problem," said a senior company official who declined to be named. The company has tied up product sharing agreements with Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. It also has a "qualitative tie-up" for product exchange with Shell, as and when the multination company enters petroleum retailing in India.
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