RIL and BP Launch Fuel Retailing JV Under ‘Jio-BP'

On Thursday oil majors RIL and BP plc announced the launch of their fuel retailing joint venture under the brand 'Jio-bp'. Last year, BP for a financial consideration of USD 1 bn bought 49% stake in the fuel-related assets of RIL including 31 aviation turbine fuel stations as well as 1400 petrol pump.

The joint venture with remaining holding by RIL is now functional. "Following initial agreements in 2019, bp and RIL teams have worked closely over the past few months in a challenging environment to complete the transaction as planned," the companies said in a joint statement, adding the new fuels and mobility joint venture, Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML), has started operations.

With the new JV, the company will aim at becoming the top company in the fuels and mobility space in the country. RBML has been granted the marketing authorisation for transportation fuels, amongst other necessary regulatory and statutory approvals.

The JV with branding done in some time will begin selling fuel and lubricants of Castrol with immediate effect. "It will leverage Reliance's presence across 21 states and its millions of consumers through the Jio digital platform. bp will bring its extensive global experience in high-quality differentiated fuels, lubricants, retail, and advanced low carbon mobility solutions," the statement said.

"India is expected to be the fastest-growing fuel market in the world over the next 20 years, with the number of passenger cars in the country estimated to grow almost six-fold over the period. RBML aims to expand from its current fuel retailing network of over 1,400 retail sites to up to 5,500 over the next five years," the statement added.

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