By Katya Naidu and Taapsi Ramchandani, CNBC-TV18:

Delhi, Mumbai and other metros will soon have to convert to branded fuel! Oil marketing companies are looking to stop selling normal fuel at most of their retail outlets in these cities.

If you live in Mumbai or Delhi, you should get ready to bid your normal unleaded fuel goodbye. That's because oil marketing companies like HPCL, BPCL and IOC are promoting their own fuel brands, and are phasing out regular petrol & diesel.

IOC, for instance, has already converted 26 of its 52 petrol pumps in Mumbai to branded-fuel outlets.

BPCL has also stopped selling normal fuel at 10 outlets in Mumbai, and 10 outlets in Delhi. And more are on the anvil.

Metros like Chennai and Kolkata are also going to see similar conversions very soon. Industry insiders say the three oil marketing companies have agreed to gradually phase out unbranded petrol and diesel from as many outlets as possible.

It's a move that will help these companies make up some of the losses they face from selling fuel at subsidised prices. After all, branded petrol, on an average, costs three rupees more than the unbranded product, while branded diesel costs one rupee, ten paise more.

But that could be even higher. Buzz is that the Government may allow oil marketing companies to hike prices of branded fuel. This may provide some respite for the oil marketing companies who are facing losses of around Rs 550 crores per day.