More than 32 parallel marketers have already closed shop, and a few major ones, like Exxon-Mobil, have also put up the shutters on their LPG business. Public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) pulled out of its joint venture with Shell, which was set up for the sole purpose of selling LPG in the parallel market.
The south India-based SPIC has also sold its stake in its joint venture with Caltex because of unbearable losses, while TotalFinaElf has curtailed its expansion plans. SHV, a leading player in the global LPG business, has also put on hold all further investments in its Indian operations.
It had invested a mere Rs 400 crore of the Rs 1,600 crore it had originally planned to invest in the country. Shri Shakti, another big entrant, is understood to be in dire financial straits.
The parallel marketers of LPG had invested more than Rs 1,100 crore in building up infrastructure for the import, bottling and marketing of LPG based on the government
