Essar Oil, in fact, will no longer sell plain petrol, but intends to replace it with Punch. "Henceforth, the company will promote only quality or premium fuels at its retail outlets. Punch, the premium motor spirit, will be introduced as a high performance fuel with multi-functional additives at no extra cost," a company source said. He added, "While Essar Oil has plans to launch the premium fuel, the timing and details of the launch are yet to be finalised. Hence, we are at present unable to comment on the matter."

But it's a moot point whether Essar Oil's initiative will spark off a nationwide price war in the premium petroleum products market. With just 40 petrol bunks in Maharashtra and Goa, Essar Oil is still a pygmy.