Background

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) was incorporated in the name of Standard Vacuum Refining Company of India Ltd in 1952. In 1962, its name was changed to ESSO Standard Refining Company of India Ltd. In 1974, the company acquired its current name pursuant to the merger of ESSO and Lube India Undertaking. Subsequently the company merged Caltex Oil Refining Ltd and Kosan Gas Company with itself in 1976 and 1979 respectively. HPCL is an integrated oil refining and marketing company.

Business Profile

It is a GoI oil refining and marketing company owning HP gas lubes brand. HPCL operates its business through two main segments namely downstream activities - refining & marketing of petroleum products and upstream activities- exploration & production of hydrocarbons. The company operates two major refineries; one each in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Visakhapatnam, AP. The company markets bulk fuels & petroleum products directly to industrial consumers such as power plants, chemicals, fertilisers, shipping companies etc. The company also markets LPG under the brand name HP GAS. As of Mar 31, 2009, the company operated around 100 depots, 43 LPG bottling plants and 8,539 outlets retailing auto LPG, CNG, petrol and diesel across the country. For FY09, the company’s annual installed capacity stood at 13 MMT of petroleum fuel & lube products; 319,779 MT of lubricating oils, greases and textile auxiliaries; and 4,062 MT of hydraulic brake fluid and insecticides.