Oil major BP PLC and India's Reliance Industries Ltd. agreed to form a joint venture that will include a retail service station network and aviation fuels business across India, according to an Aug. 6 release.
In a heads-of-agreement deal signed Aug. 6, the two companies agreed to set up the joint venture company with a 51% stake going to Reliance and a 49% interest to BP, which will assume ownership of Reliance's existing Indian fuel retail network and will have access to its aviation fuel business.
Final agreements are expected to be reached in the second half, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.
Reliance has a fuel retailing network of over 1,400 sites across India, and its aviation fuel's business operates at over 30 airports across the country. The two companies aim to grow the fuel retailing network to up to 5,500 sites over the next five years.
According to BP, the agreement is another in its partnership with Reliance, which began in 2011. In 2017, the companies agreed to seek options to work together to develop differentiated fuels and mobility businesses, the release said.
