The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) is working on a policy for setting up a trading desk for oil marketing companies (OMCs) to allow them to buy crude from the spot market. This will give greater flexibility to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, as well as enable OMCs to benefit from low crude prices. The move will also help OMCs manage their inventories better. Currently, state-run OMCs float a tender to buy crude oil, and then get approvals from the ministry, a process which takes up to two months.