IOC-Reliance meet on marketing deal inconclusive

Indian Oil Corporation's meeting to finalise the marketing deal with Reliance Industries remained inconclusive today.

Senior executives are expected to meet tommorrow to iron out "issues" before the deal is finalised. The issue likely to be discussed by the executives of the two companies will involve discounts offered by Reliance for sale of transportation fuels "" diesel and petrol "" through IOC's 8,820 retail outlets across the country.

The state-owned oil companies "" IOC, HPCL an BPCL "" entered into a two-year contract with Reliance to market 13 million tonne of the latter's products from 27 million tonne refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat.

The contract expired on March 31, 2004. The discussions come in the backdrop of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries pointing out that the company would not enter into a long-term agreement and instead prefer a spot deal which were valid for a period of 12 months.

Reliance also plans to market transporation fuels through its retail outlets which are expected to be at least 350 across the country.