Indian Oil Corp Consider Move to Myanmar's Fuel Market

As India's largest commercial enterprise, IndianOil Corporation Ltd currently owns and operates 10 of the nation’s 20 refineries. In a bid to strengthen its global presence the group has now submitted bids to enter Myanmar’s rapidly developing fuel marketing and retail economy.

Chairman B. Ashok has confirmed the move, explaining that the company wants to play a pivotal role in fuelling Myanmar’s young yet lucrative economy.

“The Myanmar market is opening up,” he comments. “We expect the fuel business to pick up, LPG business to pick up. So we are looking at possibilities there.”

Myanmar welcomes foreign activity

So why is Myanmar opening up its economic gates? In 2010 state-owned enterprise Myanma Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE) was privatised and promptly exited the fuel distribution business. Now, its plotting its re-entry, with plans to collaborate with foreign companies in the hope of expanding its presence and rehabilitating existing facilities. Once in play, MPPE will hold 51% equity, with foreign companies granted remaining ownership. The agreements will span for a maximum of 30 years, with contracts signed as extendable 10-year deals.

New government innovates new economy

After recent elections in November the country is in the process of forming a democratic government. The administrative reinvention is part of a national plan to elicit a political and economic transformation, which will put an end to more than five decades of fiscal isolation.

Earlier this month Myanmar’s parliament approved Aung San Suu Kyi as a newly appointed cabinet member. As a nationally adored social democratic stateswoman, politician and diplomat, she’ll lead the National League for Democracy party in an effort to modernise Myanmar’s economy. The goal is to secure US$80 billion of power, transport and technology projects by 2030, reports the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Indian Oil plans to frontline Myanmar’s growing gas economy

Indian Oil plans to lead the gasoline and diesel consumption movement, and hopes to secure a bid that will allow it to import, store and distribute petroleum products in Myanmar.

"We have put in a bid to enter fuel marketing and retail business in Myanmar," confirmed a senior company official.

Managing rapid economic growth

As a developing country with a burgeoning economy, Mynamar must be careful not to jeopardise its natural ecosystems. The establishment of a fuel economy must go hand in hand with a carefully constructed eco-strategy, including fastidious water pollution measures. ‘Modern Hexane-Extractable (Oil & Grease) Analysis of Wastewater Samples’ explores current water pollution management techniques in further detail, with a focus on method 1664, a solid phase extraction (SPE) currently used in the USA. As well as using less solvent, it also minimises the chances of emulsion formation during extraction, which makes the process more predictable.