Indian public sector oil companies are guarding market against the big three private companies

Public sector oil companies are making every effort to protect their monopolistic grip on petrol pumps from a challenge by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), Essar Oil and Shell.
With diesel prices being raised slowly towards international levels, private petrol pumps are expected to be viable again by 2014.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) are guarding their turf and have obtained 16,000 prime locations for new pumps.
With regular increases in diesel prices, the prospects of market pricing of diesel have brightened. Therefore, public sector oil companies have accelerated moves to minimize the impact of private petrol pumps on the business they currently dominate.
(April 2, 2013)