Could you tell us something about the progress made by Essar Oil in entering retail trading of petroleum products?
Our oil retail network programme is progressing as per plan. We expect to set up 2,000 retail outlets across the country during the next two years till date we have commissioned 30 retail outlets in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab. Our entire retail network will be set up by the time our refinery becomes operational. We have adopted a franchisee model for developing the retail network we will provide product and marketing support to the franchisees, apart from assuring them of a minimum return on their investments. At present, we are working on developing a brand for Essar Oil, which will be unveiled soon. Your plans to enter the refining sector had faced some delays in the past. Could you tell us about your new schedules in this regard? Actually, when the refinery sector was decontrolled, we were the first private sector company to put everything in place and start construction. Unfortunately, starting with a cyclone, a series of adverse events had delayed the project, including finan
