To set up a joint network of thousands of petrol stations across India to tap the country’s rapidly growing energy demand, $1 billion paid by BP to Reliance Industries.
In the new company called Jio-bp, BP will hold 49 percent and Reliance the remaining 51 percent. Over the next five years, the new company will expand Reliance’s retail sites up to 5,500, from 1,400.
To increase its staff from 20,000 to 80,000 over five years, Jio-bp will also expand to 45 airports and plans, from 30.
The plan comes as billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance, is currently in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco to sell a 20 percent stake in the oil to chemical conglomerate.
As part of the shift to low-carbon energy, BP is aiming to sharply grow its global customer base in the coming decades.
