State-owned Indian Oil Corporation is planning to open offices in Myanmar and Bangladesh this month as part of a plan to seek business opportunities in the two countries, India’s Economic Times reported on January 18.
Mr Sanjiv Singh, the chair of IOC, India’s largest refinery operator and fossil fuel retailer, said it was in talks with each country about selling petroleum products and offering expertise to establish oil infrastructure, the newspaper reported.
“For the neighbouring countries, we are not only looking for business, we are looking for association beyond business,” Singh said.
“Because these countries are also facing similar problems which we have encountered in past, we will be happy to share our experience with them and help them in solving whatever problems they are facing,” he said.
The report said IOC was interested in selling the two countries petrol, diesel and other petroleum products produced at its coastal Paradip refinery in eastern Odisha State, which opened in February last year.
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IOC “recently” sold spot cargoes of diesel and jet fuel to Myanmar and was hoping to strike long-term supply contracts with each country, Economic Times said.
It quoted Singh as saying that IOC would again participate if Myanmar were to re-float a tender to operate petrol stations throughout the country.
India’s Business Standard newspaper reported in September 2016 that IOC had tendered to operate petrol stations in Myanmar in a joint venture with state-owned Myanma Petroleum Products Enterprise.
MPPE had in 2015 invited private companies to form the joint venture for importing, storing, distributing and selling all petroleum products, the report said.
