BP (BP.) has just made a billion-dollar bet that petrol stations will stay relevant for a long time to come, buying a 49 per cent in Indian company Reliance. The deal has been in the works since last year, while BP has had an upstream partnership with Reliance since 2011.
Reliance will expand massively with the $1bn (£790m) handed over by the supermajor. It currently has 1,400 retail outlets and BP said the ‘Jio-BP’ brand would aim to bring this up to 5,500 within five years. The joint venture will also cover aviation fuel.
At the end of 2019, BP had just under 19,000 retail sites globally. The company is looking to developing markets like Indonesia for growth in this area, while in the December quarter it sold off 49 per cent of its retail property portfolio in Australia for $600m.
This is the second big portfolio change in recent weeks, with BP disposing of its petrochemicals business to Ineos for $5bn at the end of June.
BP chief executive Bernard Looney said India’s economic growth would see its “needs for mobility and convenience will accelerate”.
