<b>Chart:</b> Weighing up an integrated oil firm

An integrated oil major: Possible scenarios

The Budget proposed a plan to create an integrated public sector oil company. The cabinet secretariat had proposed merging the 13 government oil companies last year. These include Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Oil India, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Chennai Petroleum. Motilal Oswal Securities has come out with three structures for integrated company. A concern is that high market share of oil marketing companies (OMCs) could create a monopoly after merger. Other concerns could be discontinuation of clarity on subsidies, impact of crude-price movements, and poor capital allocation. Scaling back of retail networks, higher bargaining power while