Reliance-BP new joint venture to set up 5,500 petrol pump outlets in India  

BP and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) today (6) announced that they have agreed to form a new joint venture (JV) that will include a retail service station network and aviation fuels business across India.

RIL and BP’s venture will incorporate and build on RIL’s current fuel retailing network of over 1,400 sites across India, which the partners aim to grow rapidly to up to 5,500 sites over the next five years.

RIL will hold a 51 per cent stake in the new joint venture company while BP will hold 49 per cent, RIL said in a statement.

This joint venture will also include RIL’s aviation fuels business, which currently operates at over 30 airports across India, providing participation in this rapidly-growing market.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, and Bob Dudley, Group Chief Executive of BP, signed heads of agreement for the venture in Mumbai on Tuesday (6).

Bob Dudley said: “India is set to be the world’s largest growth market for energy by the mid-2020s. BP is already a large investor here and we see further attractive, strategic opportunities to support this growth.

“We are working closely with Reliance to develop India’s gas resources, helping meet the country’s demand for that key fuel. Together we will work to provide consumers across India the high-quality fuels, convenience retail and services they need, continuing to drive modernisation and mobility solutions across the country.”

The partners have agreed to set up a new joint venture company, held 51 per cent by RIL and 49 per cent by BP, that will assume ownership of RIL’s existing Indian fuel retail network and access its aviation fuel business.

It is anticipated that final agreements will be reached during 2019 and, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals, the transaction will be completed in the first half of 2020.

The venture will seek to expand its reach, broadening access through mobile fuelling units and providing packaged fuels to customers, including home-delivery.

The venture is also expected to benefit from access to competitive fuels supplies from RIL’s Jamnagar refining complex in Gujarat on the west coast of India, the world’s largest refinery complex.

This is a further development of RIL and BP’s longstanding partnership, which began in 2011 and expanded in 2017.