Centre allows Reliance BP Mobility, IMC group, 5 other companies to sell auto fuel

The Centre has permitted seven new companies to sell retail auto fuel in the country after guidelines were relaxed for authorisation to market transportation fuels in 2019. With the entry of new companies, the competition is going to increase in the petroleum retail sector.

One of the companies that have received the petroleum and natural gas ministry's approval is Reliance Industries' (RIL) subsidiary Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML) following the reorganisation of RIL's petro and chemical business, Business Standard reported.

Other companies given authorisation are Chennai-based IMC group and Assam Gas Company.

IMC Group (IMC) is in the business of liquid bulk and dry cargo port-based terminals, operations and maintenance services and international trading. IMC currently offers storage for bulk liquid at Kandla, Pipavav, JNPT, Mumbai, Goa, Karwar, Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, Kakinada, Vizag, Kolkata and Haldia Ports.

Assam Gas Company has a network of underground natural gas trunk and distribution pipelines that serves about 400+ tea factories, 1,000 commercial establishments, about 31,000 domestic consumers and several big industrial consumers in the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Golaghat and Cachar in Assam. The company can transport over 5.5 MMSCMD of natural gas.

Also read: Petrol prices hiked 39 times, diesel 36 times since April

Newly-formed Onsite Energy, set up in May 2020, works in service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction and also offer oil and gas field services. It has also received the ministry approval.

MK Agrotech and Manas Agro Industries and Infrastructure have also received the ministry approval to sell fuel in the country.

While MK Agrotech deals in agricultural products, real estate, and crude oil and gas explorations. Manas Agro sells LPG under its brand name and ethanol-blended petrol with Essar Petroleum.

The companies that received approval fulfilled the criteria of a minimum net worth of Rs 250 crore. For licence regarding both retail and bulk sales, the companies need to have a net worth of minimum Rs 500 crore. The new rules say companies receiving the retail authorisation must set up a minimum of 100 retail stores, with 5 per cent in notified remote areas in five years of the approval.

Also read: Reliance's O2C, new energy biz may be valued over $100 bn