BPCL to start gas distribution in Gandhinagar

AHMEDABAD: For the first time Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will commence distribution of natural gas on its own at Gandhinagar in April.
So far its gas distribution operations have been in partnership with Gail (India) Ltd. BPCL''s director (marketing), S Radhakrishnan, told TOI that it will begin supplying gas to industrial units at Santej in the first phase.Thereafter, it will cover other industrial belts in the district and follow it up with piped gas for household use in the next phase.
BPCL had got permission from the state government to distribute gas in three areas, Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Sabarkantha over a year back. It will be investing a total of around Rs 300 crore for setting up a distribution network in these three areas. The company hopes to generate an internal rate of return of 15 per cent on these investments. BPCL will source its gas supplies from Gujarat State Pe-troleum Corp (GSPC).
Radhakrishnan said that work on its proposed new refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh is likely to start soon. "As part of the Rs 7,000 crore Bina refinery project a single buoy mooring (SBM) facility for berthing of oil tankers will be set up at Sikka in Gujarat. A pipeline for transporting crude from Sikka to Bina will also be set up," he added. The SBM and the pipeline would involve investments of several hundred crore.
BPCL is planning to add 700-800 retail outlets at an investment of Rs 200-300 crore during next financial year, 2005-06. He said that around 20 per cent of these will be on highways while the bulk of them will be set up in and around smaller towns and cities.
Radhakrishnan was in Ahmedabad at the launch of BPCL''s ''Hi-Speed Diesel'' brand in the city. "BPCL has been the pioneer in launching branded fuels and we hope to continue to maintain this edge over our competitors," he added.
A pilot project on setting up single pump outlets in small rural pockets at a nominal cost of Rs 5 lakh per outlet has met with a good response. "So, we plan to set up more of these outlets where the land will belong to the franchisees," he said.