Marketing System in India At present, the marketing of petroleum products in India is being done by four major public sector oil companies, namely, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., and IBP Co. Ltd.

The vast expanse of the country and a population of 940 million are served through an elaborate and extensive network of retail distribution by these companies with the help of 16573 retail outlets, 6280 kerosene agencies and 5165 LPG distributorships spread in every nook and corner of the country. An ambitious programme for modernisation of retail outlets to bring them at par with international standards has been taken up by the oil industry.

Besides the country's retail network, the full requirements of the industrial units are being met by the marketing companies through direct supplies to them. These industries are operating in important areas like shipping, transport, aviation, power petrochemicals, fertilisers, steel, mining, etc. With the liberalisation and the opening up of the economy, the industrial activity is bound to accelerate and thereby generate additional demand in the industrial and infrastructure sectors.

There are elaborate plans for the development of petrochemical units in the near future to generate substantially high demand of naphtha as compared to the present requirement. Many power projects being planned will use liquid fuels like naphtha and fuel oil thus further adding to the demand for naphtha in the country.

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