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RIL to shut down 900 petrol pumps

NEW DELHI: Faced with the prospects of rising global crude oil prices and its inability to match the fuel price offered by state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs), Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is understood to have decided to shut down 900 petrol pumps.

The company has set up 1,400 pumps across the country.

The company has been faced with the prospect of declining sales and huge losses in the last few months as the gap between its retail price and that of the OMC outlets that are compensated by the Government in shape of subsidy, was widening with the rising crude oil prices.

On an average, petrol from RIL outlets was priced at about Rs. 4 to 5 a litre more than the OMC owned outlets.

Company sources said RIL would close about 900 company operated petrol pumps and is learnt to have already sounded its retailers of its intentions. The company has made a decision not to replenish petrol and diesel stocks once the existing lot at its retail outlets get exhausted.

Although public sector retailers also lose Rs. 10.93 on sale of every litre of petrol and Rs. 14.66 a litre on diesel but the losses are made up through the issue of oil bonds by the Government and discounts from upstream and downstream oil and gas companies.

Sources said RIL had invested nearly Rs. 4,000 crore in setting up close to 1,400 retail outlets for selling petrol and diesel.

Out of these, Reliance owns and operates about 900 outlets and the remaining 500 are operated by dealers.

It is understood that thousands of people who are employed in these outlets would be rendered unemployed due to the closure of these outlets.

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