Fuel Retailing

After reporting record profits, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), BPCL and HPCL posted up to 90 per cent slump in their June quarter earnings as margins fell and they booked under-recovery on the sale of domestic cooking gas LPG at government-controlled rates. IOC, the nation's largest oil firm, reported 81 per cent drop in standalone net profit in April-June - the first quarter of current 2024-25 fiscal year - to Rs 2,643.18 crore as opposed to a profit of Rs 13,750.44 crore a year back, according to a company filing. Net profit also declined sequentially, when compared to an earning of Rs 11,570.82 crore in March quarter. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) posted 90 per cent drop in profit to Rs 633.94 crore as compared to an earning of Rs 6,765.50 crore in April-June 2023 and Rs 2,709.31 crore in the preceding March quarter. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) net profit dropped to Rs 2,841.55 crore in April-June from Rs 10,644.30 crore a year .

Gujarat has the highest percentage of private oil pumps at 24%, followed by Rajasthan at 14.5%; the former will elect a new legislative assembly by this December, the latter, a year later

The new rules would allow convenience stores, shopping malls and hypermarkets to sell fuels if they are eligible, said an oil ministry source

The decision to absorb Re 1 a litre on petrol and diesel by the three state-run OMCs will also lead to a cut in prices by the private companies

A day before India shifts to a market dynamic system of daily revision of petrol and diesel prices, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today invited BP plc, Europe's third-biggest oil company, and Reliance Industries to invest in fuel retailing. While RIL already has a fuel retailing license and has some 1,400 petrol pumps on the ground, BP last year got approval to set up petrol pumps in India. "Received CEO of BP Bob Dudley & RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani. BP and RIL have invested in KG Basin. Invited them to invest in retail as well," Pradhan said in a Twitter post after an 80-minute meeting with the partners. RIL and BP are partners in oil and gas exploration but have no such collaboration in downstream fuel retailing business. BP is the tenth player to enter the lucrative fuel retailing business that is seeing double digit growth, not seen anywhere in the world. Last evening at an industry event, Pradhan had stated that BP as also Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd have been given nod