OMC shares fall up to 3 pc after govt allows non-oil cos in business

Shares of oil marketing companies on Thursday dropped up to 3 per cent after the government relaxed norms for setting up petrol pumps, allowing non-oil companies to venture into the business.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation tumbled 3.16 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) 2.49 per cent and Indian Oil Corporation fell 2.22 per cent on the BSE.

In the biggest reform in fuel retailing sector in almost two decades, the government on Wednesday relaxed norms for setting up petrol pumps, allowing non-oil companies to venture into the business - a move that could help private and foreign firms to enter the world's fastest-growing market.

At present, to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India, a company needs to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

State-owned oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) - own most of 65,554 petrol pumps in the country.

Currently, IOC is the market leader with 27,981 petrol pumps in the country, followed by HPCL with 15,584 outlets, and BPCL with 15,078 fuel stations.