Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil marketing company, will go slow on its retail expansion plan in Orissa owing to the prevailing economic downturn.
IOC targeted to set up eight retail outlets and 16 kisan seva kendras in Orissa in 2008-09, but we will go slow on our retail expansion plan in the next fiscal, said V Ramgopal, general manager and state level coordinator (Orissa) of IOC. Ramgopal, however, did not spell out the details like the number of retail outlets planned for the state and the revenue projection for 2009-10. IOC made Rs 8,000 crore business in Orissa in 2007-08.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight 2009, an event organised in the city by IOC. The Oil and Gas conservation week is being observed all over the country from January 15-31 under the Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas.
“The crude oil production in the country has been stagnating at around 32-34 million tonnes over the last three decades even though we have invested considerable resources in terms of money and manpower in oil exploration. The demand for oil in the country stood at around 120 million tonnes in 2007-08”, said Ramgopal.“We are producing only 21 per cent of our total oil requirement while the remaining 79 per cent of the demand is met through imports and by 2020, the dependence on oil imports are projected to go up to 92 per cent. The total import burden in oil for the country was Rs 2,74,000 crore in 2007-08”, he added. SN Patro, state minister for energy and culture said, “India’s petroleum requirement is one-sixth of the world requirement. The demand for oil in India is set to grow.”
