IOC to automate all petrol stations in 3 years

Indian Oil Corporation is in the process of automating its petrol stations and aims to complete the work in the next three years, a top official said.

"In the retail front, we have taken a major initiative.

“We have gone for a large scale automation. Total delivery is controlled in automation system and there is always a verification system to check the quality and the volume of fuel delivered," B Ashok, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, told reporters.

Indian Oil till last month has automated more than 6,200 retail outlets and is planning to automate 7,500 more in the current fiscal across the country.

The company has automated two petrol stations one each in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu and the other at Puducherry.

One petrol station in Chennai and Coimbatore was underway for automation, he said.

"For 2014-15, the company has lined up investment of Rs 125 crore (Rs 1.25 billion) for setting up new retail outlets and modernise existing retail outlets with canopy, visual identity and installation of modern dispensing units in Tamil Nadu," Ashok said.

Indian Oil has invested about Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) in Tamil Nadu till October towards automation and augmentation of existing facilities.

"We are planning to cover all the retail outlets in three years time," he said.

On the setting up of rural petrol station under the Kisan Seva Kendra scheme, he said by March 2015, Indian Oil will have 7,000 such stations across the country.