Jamnagar surplus: RIL wants to sell auto LPG

Reliance Industries Ltd has sought government's nod to sell LPG from its Jamnagar refinery as fuel for automobiles.

Reliance, which till now sold most of the 2.4 million tonnes per annum of LPG produced from the refinery to state-run retailers, is facing a surplus after the public sector firms reduced purchases due to increase in their own production.

"Reliance first approached the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in November for permission to export LPG or sell it for use in automobiles. More meetings happened last month but the government is yet to take any decision," an industry source said.

Currently, only state-run refiners Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation are allowed to sell indigenously produced LPG for automobiles. Private sector companies have to use imported LPG.

The company is looking at new markets for surplus LPG after IOC and HPCL, who re-sold LPG brought from Jamnagar as subsidised cooking fuel to households, slashed offtake drastically. Reliance spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

The source said Reliance, which already sells 3,000 tons per month of imported auto-LPG in parts of southern and western India, is looking at displacing up to 15 per cent of the petrol market with auto-LPG. Total auto-LPG sales in India is about 15,000 tons per month. The company plans to sell LPG to automobiles through its network of 1,260 petrol stations across the country.