The central government is considering revising its 2019 fuel retailing licensing norms to further ease the procedure for setting up petrol pumps in India, which is now the world’s fastest-growing fuel market.
An official order states the constitution of an expert committee by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas that will “assess the effectiveness of the framework envisaged in Resolution dated November 8, 2019, in ensuring energy security and market efficiency; align the policy framework with national commitment towards decarbonisation, electrical mobility and promotion of alternative fuel; and address issues in implementation of existing guidelines”.
The four-member committee is headed by Sukhmal Jain, former director (marketing) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). Other members include Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) Director General, P Manoj Kumar; FIPI member, PS Ravi; and Arun Kumar, Director (Marketing) in the ministry.
Also Read: Reliance to be No. 1 oil refiner if talks with Rosneft succeed
An August 6 notice of the ministry had sought stakeholder/general public comments/suggestions on the matter within 14 days.
The ministry’s norms that were formed in 2019 had opened the door for non-oil companies to enter the fuel retailing business, mandating companies interested in selling petrol and diesel to retail and bulk consumers to have a net-worth of at least ₹500 crore.
Similarly, companies with a net worth of ₹250 crore were allowed to sell petrol and diesel, provided they committed to setting up infrastructure for at least one new-generation alternative fuel, such as CNG, LNG, biofuels, or EV charging, within three years of beginning their operations.
Before 2019, companies were required to invest or commit to invest ₹2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in order to obtain a fuel retailing license in India.
However, post norms-relaxation in 2019, for retail authorisation, entities had to set up at least 100 retail outlets; 5 per cent of which were to be established in rural areas within five years.
Currently, state-owned oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) own most of the 97,804 petrol pumps in the country.
Currently, IOC is the market leader with 40,666 petrol pumps in the country, followed by BPCL with 23,959 outlets, and HPL with 23,901 fuel stations.
The joint venture of Reliance (which operates the world's largest oil refining complex) and BP has 1,991 outlets; while Nayara has 6,763 pumps. Shell operates just 355 outlets.
Global energy giants have been showing interest in the Indian fuel market for a long time, including Saudi Arabia's Aramco, which has been in talks to enter the sector.
In 2018, French energy giant TotalEnergies applied for a license to retail petrol and diesel through 1,500 outlets in partnership with Adani Group. BP too has formed a partnership with Reliance Industries to set up petrol pumps.
Meanwhile, oil trader Trafigura's downstream arm, Puma Energy, had also applied for a license.
Reliance Industries, Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil), and Royal Dutch Shell are the private players in the market, but with limited presence.
Follow us
