Business Line
Hyderabad - Sat, 27 Oct 2007

Dutch gas major SHV Energy, through its arm Super Gas, Plans to set up 12 Hi-Drive auto LPG gas dispensing retail outlets in the country by the year-end.

These Stations would be set up in the South and North through franchisee operations, said its Vice – President, Business Development and Special Projects,
Mr. V.N. Diwakar.

Mr. Diwakar told Business Line, that the company was setting up a network of these stations and expects to cover Gujarat, Maharastra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in Phase one.

The General Manager of SHV Energy, Mr. Suresh Bhalla, said LPG as auto fuel is just about beginning to make inroads in the country and it will not be long before more companies and original equipment manufacturers look at this fuel option in new cars.

LPG is a cheaper and cleaner fuel option for automotives. It is estimated that this brings in about 35 percent savings for an automotive user apart from providing an alternative option. This is compelling more users to take to this, he said.

One of the issues is the growth of cars using LPG as fuel did not pick up as there were no stations. Now that more stations are being set up, more companies would offer this fuel. Already Maruti and other carmakers are offering LPG variants.

However, SHV Energy, which markets its LPG in India under the Super Gas brand name, plans to focus only on LPG even though markets such as Delhi and Mumbai were opting for CNG as fuel.

Super Gas in India now operates out of 25 centers and plan to set up its geographical reach and more delivery centers. The company has completed implantation of SAP ERP system across its centers and this would enable the company to better manage supply chain, logistics, dealer network and customers.

The country’s domestic LPG market is estimated at about 11 million tonnes and of this about 92 percent is domestic gas provided by oil and gas companies. The addressable commercial market is about 8 percent and poised for growth.

With $20 billion in revenues globally, the Dutch company arm logged revenues of Rs.525 crore in the country.