Bharat Petroleum to open fuel stations abroad
The company is expected to use the surplus refining capacity in India to retail in the neighbouring countries and its own products from the Mozambique and Brazil hydrocarbon assets in Africa and Far Eastern countries - China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Dec 31, 2015,
- Updated Dec 31, 2015 4:45 PM IST
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) plans to open fuel retail outlets in the neighbouring countries, Africa and Far East as part of its expansion. The company is expected to use the surplus refining capacity in India to retail in the neighbouring countries and its own products from the Mozambique and Brazil hydrocarbon assets in Africa and Far Eastern countries - China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Bharat Petro Resources (BPRL), a wholly owned subsidiary company of BPCL in upstream, has Participating Interest (PI) in 17 exploration blocks - seven in India, six in Brazil and one each in Mozambique, Indonesia, Australia and East Timor. About 88 per cent of its total 24,375 sq. km. E&P area is in the offshore. In Brazil, BPRL has a 50 per cent stake in IBV Brasil Petroleo, which currently holds PI ranging from 20 per cent to 40 per cent in offshore blocks. In Mozambique, it has PI of 10 per cent in a block, where the US major Anadarko is the operator.
S. Varadarajan, Chairman and Managing Director of BPCL, recently said in an interview with BT that upstream has become a huge success for the company. Of the discoveries under exploration, Mozambique has the potential to become the third largest gas find in the world. The assets in Brazil are sizeable. "In both the places, the exploration phase is getting over and we are entering into the developmental phase. By 2020, the first gas is expected from Mozambique. Brazil will also start production around the same time," said Varadarajan.
The oil marketing company will be giving special emphasis to rural markets in India, he said. The private players - Reliance and Essar - are yet to come back to retailing in full swing and the 97-98 per cent of market share is still with the public sector undertakings (PSUs). Since the market has opened up with deregulation of prices, the private players and other MNCs are expected to come in. "We are gearing up for the competition," said the chairman.
Currently, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the only Indian firm that does direct fuel retailing business outside India. Lanka IOC, the subsidiary in Sri Lanka, is the only private oil company other than the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) that operates retail petrol and diesel stations there. Lanka IOC is ranked among the top five in the island nation's leading listed companies.
IOC uses the surplus refining capacity in India to bridge the existing gap between demand and supply in Sri Lanka. Lanka IOC operates about 150 petrol and diesel stations, and has an efficient lube marketing network. At Trincomalee, it has the largest petroleum storage facility in the country, a lubricants blending plant, and a state-of-the-art fuel and lubricant testing laboratory.
Indian Oil (Mauritius) (IOML), another subsidiary, is the third largest petroleum company in Mauritius. IOML holds an overall market share of 24 per cent, and has a range of products - automotive fuels, aviation fuel, marine fuels, and SERVO Lubricants - in the country. In addition to 17 filling stations, it operates a petroleum bulk storage terminal at the Mer Rouge port. There is considerable expansion of retail network ongoing in Mauritius.
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) plans to open fuel retail outlets in the neighbouring countries, Africa and Far East as part of its expansion. The company is expected to use the surplus refining capacity in India to retail in the neighbouring countries and its own products from the Mozambique and Brazil hydrocarbon assets in Africa and Far Eastern countries - China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Bharat Petro Resources (BPRL), a wholly owned subsidiary company of BPCL in upstream, has Participating Interest (PI) in 17 exploration blocks - seven in India, six in Brazil and one each in Mozambique, Indonesia, Australia and East Timor. About 88 per cent of its total 24,375 sq. km. E&P area is in the offshore. In Brazil, BPRL has a 50 per cent stake in IBV Brasil Petroleo, which currently holds PI ranging from 20 per cent to 40 per cent in offshore blocks. In Mozambique, it has PI of 10 per cent in a block, where the US major Anadarko is the operator.
S. Varadarajan, Chairman and Managing Director of BPCL, recently said in an interview with BT that upstream has become a huge success for the company. Of the discoveries under exploration, Mozambique has the potential to become the third largest gas find in the world. The assets in Brazil are sizeable. "In both the places, the exploration phase is getting over and we are entering into the developmental phase. By 2020, the first gas is expected from Mozambique. Brazil will also start production around the same time," said Varadarajan.
The oil marketing company will be giving special emphasis to rural markets in India, he said. The private players - Reliance and Essar - are yet to come back to retailing in full swing and the 97-98 per cent of market share is still with the public sector undertakings (PSUs). Since the market has opened up with deregulation of prices, the private players and other MNCs are expected to come in. "We are gearing up for the competition," said the chairman.
Currently, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the only Indian firm that does direct fuel retailing business outside India. Lanka IOC, the subsidiary in Sri Lanka, is the only private oil company other than the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) that operates retail petrol and diesel stations there. Lanka IOC is ranked among the top five in the island nation's leading listed companies.
IOC uses the surplus refining capacity in India to bridge the existing gap between demand and supply in Sri Lanka. Lanka IOC operates about 150 petrol and diesel stations, and has an efficient lube marketing network. At Trincomalee, it has the largest petroleum storage facility in the country, a lubricants blending plant, and a state-of-the-art fuel and lubricant testing laboratory.
Indian Oil (Mauritius) (IOML), another subsidiary, is the third largest petroleum company in Mauritius. IOML holds an overall market share of 24 per cent, and has a range of products - automotive fuels, aviation fuel, marine fuels, and SERVO Lubricants - in the country. In addition to 17 filling stations, it operates a petroleum bulk storage terminal at the Mer Rouge port. There is considerable expansion of retail network ongoing in Mauritius.