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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) plans to buy 1,500 of its outlets owned by dealers and has engaged international real estate consultants Jones Lang LaSalle and Brook International to assess their value.

"The company owns, either directly or through a lease agreement, about 60 per cent of the present 4,500 retail outlets all over India. About 40 per cent of the retail sites are owned by dealers. We intend to either buy them or to acquire them through lease hold," BPCL general manager (retail) A K Bansal told Business Standard.

The international real estate consultants have been hired to assess the right value of the retail outlets, he said.

"The exercise is a part of the company's efforts to modernise its retail network. Seventy thousand petrol pump attendants and LPG delivery men are being trained. International standard facilities, including automatic car washes and convenience stores, have been introduced at the `new generation' petrol stations. State-of-the-art, environment-friendly lubricants have been launched in the market," Bansal said.

According to a preliminary estimate by experts, the total land mass BPCL is trying to acquire will be over 100 million square feet, which will involve an investment of about Rs 500 crore.

However, no definite time-frame could be laid down at this stage since the evaluation process was still to be completed, though the company would like to have its own new generation retail stations as soon as possible, Bansal said.

"With complete deregulation of the oil sector envisaged by 2002, competition from international majors and Indian private companies will be fierce. Bharat Petroleum is determined to succeed in this competitive environment. The company is gearing up to serve its over 30 million customers better and to become the most preferred supplier," says Bansal.

According to industry experts, the oil sector in India will be opened for multinationa