Reliance Industries, BP to set up fuel retail joint venture |
[ Time:2019-08-07 | Hits:445 ] |
RelianceNSE -0.65 % Industries and BP have agreed to set up a 51:49 joint venture to operate their fuel retailing business, targeting expanding number of
filling stations to 5,500 in five years and offer home delivery of
fuel. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and BP group chief executive Bob Dudley signed heads of agreement for the venture in Mumbai on Tuesday. Final agreements will be reached later in 2019 and the transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, will be completed in the first half of 2020, the firms said in a statement. BP obtained a licence to market transportation fuel in India three years ago but didn’t begin. It, instead, decided to explore partnership with Reliance for fuel retailing. BP already has stake in RIL’s upstream business. Reliance has been cautious in expanding its fuel retail network in the past five years. By comparison, its rival Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil) expanded much faster since 2014 when diesel sales were deregulated again.
Reliance’s current network of more than 1,400 filling stations will now
be overtaken by the joint venture that can also access the RIL’s
aviation fuel business, as per the joint statement.
(From The Economic Times) |