Bpcl To Launch 5kg Cylinder For Rural Market

The saturated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) market in the metros and the piped gas in Mumbai and Delhi has forced oil companies to foray aggressively into the rural areas. Bharat Petroleum Corporation is launching 5 kg cylinder in the interiors of Maharashtra mid-August.

Priced at around Rs 100 a cylinder, BPCL will be the first state-owned oil company to launch "mini" LPG cylinders at an "affordable" price. Targeted at the fixed low monthly income group, the oil company expects to enter the kitchens of the rural folks persuading them to go in for a cleaner LPG fuel from kerosene and wooden chulahs.

 

The state-owned oil companies have been evaluating the rural market for some time now. The pressure has increased with customers in Mumbai and Delhi switching over to piped gas. Moreover, more and more cities are coming in the ambit of city gas projects which would mean that the sales of LPG as domestic fuel is likely to be hit.

In fact, oil companies in Mumbai and Delhi have already witnessed dip in sales of petrol and diesel with taxis and autorickshaws opting for compressed natural gas (CNG) and increasing households opting for piped gas.

Though the logistics of moving 5 kg cylinders in the hinterland will result in increasing cost, the oil companies are already considering mobile LPG refuelling plants.

The two other refining and marketing oil majors - Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation -- are also planning to enter the rural market with 5 kg cylinders.

HPCL is evaluating the option of appointing LPG distributors in the rural areas while IOC already has a pilot plant for filling mini cylinders.