The Government’s July 1 notification to increase special additional excise on petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel is likely to impact the GRM (gross refining margin) of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), if the statement by the company at its 34th annual general meeting is any indication.

Replying to a query by a shareholder at the AGM on Monday, M Venkatesh, Managing Director of MRPL, said the company declared a highest ever GRM of $24 a barrel in Q1 of 2022-23.

“However, going forward, we all know the Government of India has levied windfall tax on export of products. There could be disturbed GRM for MRPL. We are trying our best to maintain whatever possible in the given situation,” he said.

It may be mentioned here that BusinessLine in a story dated July 11, had highlighted the impact of the Government’s move on one of the standalone public sector refiners – MRPL – though the move was aimed at reining in private players in the refining sector.

GRM is the difference between the price of crude and the end products such as diesel, petrol, etc.

MRPL, HPCL merger

To a query on the proposed merger of MRPL and HPCL, the MD said: “It is the decision to be taken at an appropriate time by our parent company (ONGC) and HPCL.”

Earlier, the Chairperson of MRPL, Alka Mittal, said the company plans to expand its retail outlet network. She said the company is in the process of setting up a 2G ethanol plant at Davangere in Karnataka.

Venkatesh said the company wants to set up around 190-200 retail outlets in the next few years

Replying to the query of a shareholder to appoint more women employees in the company, the MD said the company is proud to have a dedicated, highly qualified women workforce. At present, women employees’ share is around 7-8 per cent, he said.

“We are focussed on maximising women employees even in retail outlets. There are retail outlets where some of the employees are women hired by the dealers. We are trying to improve our ratio of women employees,” he said.

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