The government has allowed Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, to market transportation fuels in the country under its own name and logo.

The company, which operates 9.69 million tonne per annum refinery at Mangalore, fulfills the investment requirement of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) in the building of infrastructure in the hydrocarbon sector to be eligible for the marketing of petrol and diesel, an official release said here today.

MRPL plans to set up 500 petrol stations in the country.

MRPL will set up most of its petrol stations in southern and western India, including 110 each in Karnataka, where its refinery processes 193,000 barrels per day, and Maharashtra, the petroleum ministry statement said.

It will also set up retail outlets in 8 other states -- Kerala (22), Tamil Nadu (56), Andhra Pradesh (56), Goa (12), Gujarat (56), Madhya Pradesh (22), Rajasthan (28) and Haryana (28).

MRPL is the sixth company, after deregulation of the oil sector, to have been granted the licence to set up petrol stations in the country.

Earlier, marketing rights were given to Reliance Industries Ltd (5,849 petrol stations), Shell India Pvt Ltd (2000), Essar Oil (1700), ONGC (1,100) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (510).