NEW DELHI: State-run entities will stay off when the government puts India’s second-largest public sector oil refiner and fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) on the block, a move that is expected to make the offering attractive for foreign majors.
“Since 2014, we have a clear vision that the government has no business to be in business … Nitty gritty and details of the disinvestment process will have to be worked out but when I say the government has no business to be in business, it is indicative of possible future course of action,” oil and steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on the sidelines of an industry function on Thursday.
The cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal to privatise BPCL by selling the government’s 53.3% stake with management control to a strategic investor. This will be the first privatisation of an oil company by the Narendra Modi government. BPCL will give the buyer access to 14% of India’s oil refining capacity and about a fourth of the fuel marketing infrastructure in the world’s fastest-growing energy market.
