BPCL puts Rs 9,875 crore price tag on 61% NRL stake
NEW DELHI: The board of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), which has been put on the block by the government, on Monday approved sale of its 61.65% stake in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) for Rs 9,875 crore, according to a regulatory filing.
A consortium of state-run engineering consultancy company EIL and northeast explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL) is to buy BPCL’s 49% stake in NRL. Assam government is to buy the remaining 13.6% of BPCL’s stake. OIL already holds 26% and the state government 12.3% in NRL.
The government had decided to exclude NRL’s refinery in Assam, the only one in the northeast, from BPCL sale as it was built under an accord between the Centre and the state. OIL already holds 26% in NRL, while the Assam government holds a little over 12%.
The acquisition of BPCL’s stake in NRL by the EIL-OIL combine will maintain NRL’s status as a public sector undertaking and exclude it from the former’s disinvestment, one of the conditions set for selling BPCL.
EIL’s partnership with OIL for a stake in NRL is part of a plan to expand its business beyond consultancy. It will be a minority partner in the consortium with OIL.
NRL has plans to treble refining capacity to 9 million tonnes a year at an investment of Rs 22,594 crore by 2024 with a view to improving product availability in the region and ramp up exports to countries neighbouring the northeast region.
