State-owned exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will begin retailing petrol and diesel from its own petrol stations by the year end, company chairman and managing director Subir Raha said on Thursday.

"Our first petrol pump will come up in Mangalore in next couple of months time", Raha said at the function organised to receive the first shipment of the country's own equity oil from Sudan.

ONGC, which recently acquired 9.69 million tonnes Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, has already secured a licence to set up 600 petrol pumps in four states including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat.

"With the acquisition of MRPL, ONGC has become the country's first fully integrated oil company having business interests in the entire value chain of oil exploration, refining and marketing", he said.

ONGC produces over 25 million tonnes of crude oil annually.

The 80,000 tonnes of crude, shipped from the Greater Nile Oil Project in Sudan where ONGC Videsh Ltd (the overseas arm of ONGC) has taken 25 per cents stake, would be processed at MRPL.

Besides, ONGC would also be diverting 1.8 million tonnes of crude oil it produces in Mumbai High oil fields to take up capacity utilisation to 9.69 million tonnes from the present 6 million tonnes.

Petroleum Ministry officials said a meeting of state-run oil retailing firms would be held shortly to workout increased product off-take from MRPL.

Currently, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd were lifting only 6 million tonnes of products annually against the design capacity of 9.69 million tonnes.