The Hindu Business Line : ONGC to set up first petrol retail outlet in Gujarat

OIL and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has changed its plans to set up its first ever petrol pump in Karnataka. The company has now decided that the location will be in Gujarat. The Rs 32,000-crore company had, in May 2003, announced plans to open its first pump in Mangalore, where it owns Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. But plans went awry because of difficulties in obtaining land for setting up petrol stations in Karnataka, said a company official.

ONGC is now working on setting up outlets in Gujarat at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bharuch and Ankleshwar, where it plans to set up a mini-refinery, the official said.

The outlets will be launched by end of this fiscal year and will be designed by the Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design (NID). These will be launched under the brand name OVAL (ONGC Values). The entire retailing chain design, from the logo to the structure, will be designed by the institute.

ONGC's first petrol pump was scheduled to come up at Mangalore, and in other places in South India in the latter half of 2003. It has a licence to set up 1,100 retail outlets across the country. Another reason for its resolution to make a retail foray from Mangalore, was the advantage of close proximity to its 9.69 million-tonne/mt-a-year refinery — the main source of product availability.

The company may now take products from Indian Oil's 9-mtKoyali refinery or Reliance Industries' 32-mt Jamnagar refinery. The corporation is chalking out a major branding exercise to reflect its new status as an integrated, global energy company.

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