BPCL to sell entire 62% stake in Numaligarh Refinery for Rs 9,880 cr

NEW DELHI: The board of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd has approved the sale of its entire 61.65% stake in Numaligarh Refiner y Ltd to a consortium of Oil India Ltd and Engineers India Ltd, and to the state government of Assam for 98.8 bln rupees, the company said.

The total consideration will be from the consortium in case of non participation by the state government, it said.

The expected date of completion of the stake sale will be within a month from obtaining all requisite approvals, it said. Oil India, which already owns 26% stake in Numaligarh Refiner y, is the lead member of the consortium.

BPCL's exit from Numaligarh Refiner y is a precursor to the former's privatisation, which the government expects to complete in the first half of 2021-22 (Apr-Mar).

BPCL Director (Finance) N. Vijayagopal had said last month that the consortium of Oil India and Engineers India would acquire 48% stake in Numaligarh Refinery, while the Assam government would pick up 13.65%, taking its stake in the refiner to 26%.

As Numaligarh Refiner y is part of the Assam Accord, the government did not include it in BPCL's privatisation plan and decided that its controlling stake in the Assam-based refiner y would be sold to another public sector oil and gas company or a consortium of such companies. Both Oil India and Engineers India are under the administrative control of the petroleum ministr y.

Oil India will become the largest shareholder in the refiner once the transaction is completed. Numaligarh Refiner y is the biggest consumer of crude oil produced by Oil India from its fields in the region. Numaligarh Refiner y is currently in the process of expanding its refining capacity to 9 mtpa from 3 mtpa.

The cost of this project is pegged at around 226 bln rupees, and it is likely to be completed in 2024.