The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will formally enter into the retail fuel market on March 19 with the opening of its first outlet in Mangalore.
ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Subir Raha said in Surat: "ONGC has recently got the licence to foray into the retail segment. We are opening our first retail fuel outlet at Mangalore in Karnataka on March 19."
Raha and several top executives of the company were in Surat to participate in a programme organised to mark the completion of twenty years of the commissioning of ONGC's Hazira plant.
"We would be selling petrol, diesel and lubricants at our outlets. We have charted out a definite plan for expansion, as per which we would start opening retail outlets in the other cities as well in the coming months," he added.
N K Mitra, director (offshore), ONGC, said: "Along with ONGC, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has also got a license for entering into retail marketing. MRPL is a subsidiary of ONGC, but it would have separate outlets. We expect MRPL to open its first outlet within the next five to six months."
Asked if any target has been set with regards to the number of outlets, Mitra, who is also on the board of MRPL, said: "Yes, we have set a specific target, even though I cannot reveal the exact number. Our aim is to open a substantial number of retail outlets, of both ONGC and MRPL, in the next one year or so."
"Availability of land is the biggest issue for retail outlets today. Our plan is to initially target those cities, where ONGC has its own land. As we start increasing the number of outlets, we would also expand to the other cities," he added.