The Hindu : Business : Reliance, MRPL to sell kerosene

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Business

Business

Reliance, MRPL to sell kerosene

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 10. The Central Government today announced that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) would be allowed to sell kerosene in the open market directly to "genuine consumers". At present, public sector oil companies are selling subsidised kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS).

The decision will benefit RIL, which operates the country's largest oil refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat, as well as MRPL, which is now a subsidiary of the public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Till now, RIL and MRPL had been allowed to sell petrol and diesel in the retail market as well as kerosene and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to bulk consumers. With this move, the two companies will now be able to supply kerosene at the retail level.

The decision was disclosed here today by the Union Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, while addressing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry. The two companies have been allowed to market kerosene outside the public distribution system directly to genuine consumers, he said. The companies have so far been selling most of their kerosene production to public sector marketing companies.

He also told the committee that his ministry had asked all State governments to identify and close all unauthorised utility pumps or barrel points in rural areas or highways. Utility pump locations having a potential of 20-25 kilo litre a month will be replaced by low cost retail outlets. For locations having potential of less than 20-25 kl a month, oil marketing companies would develop a business model to meet the demand at such rural locations by establishing sub-outlets of the nearest retail outlet, he said.

To curb adulteration of petroleum products, he said penal provisions listed in Marketing Discipline Guidelines for sale of petrol and diesel at petrol stations were being made more stringent and provisions were also being considered to fix accountability for production quality on oil companies and their officers.

Referring to the advisory committee set up to restructure public sector oil firms, he said it was expected to submit its report in May. The committee which had its first meeting on January 24 was set up to recommend measures for oil sector companies to leverage their strengths in their respective areas of core competence. In this context, he said the Government had approved in principle the merger of Kochi Refineries with Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). On completion of the due process of valuation and finalisation of the merger scheme, BPCL will seek final approval of the Government.

Mr. Aiyar said that various strategies were being adopted by the Ministry to ensure energy security.

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