Oil India, Engineers India and Assam govt to pick up BPCL stake in Numaligarh refinery for Rs 9,876 crore

BPCL (File Image: Reuters)

State-run Oil India, Engineers India (EIL) and the government of Assam will pick up a 61.65 percent stake in Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) from Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for Rs 9,876 crore, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said in a tweet on March 1.

The transaction is likely to happen this month and is considered to be the first step towards the privatisation of BPCL. “Privatisation process of BPCL moves ahead with BPCL Board deciding to exit from NRL at a consideration of Rs 9,875.96 crore for its 61.65 percent stake with the transfer of control,” Dipam said.

Both OIL and EIL had submitted bids on February 20. While OIL will be taking an additional 38 percent stake in the company, EIL will be getting 10 percent. On the other hand, the Assam government will be picking up 13.65 percent in the project, thereby increasing its total share in the project to 26 percent. After the deal, OIL will be the majority shareholder in the company with a total of 64 percent.

The Union Cabinet had cleared the proposal for strategic sale of the government’s 53.29 percent stake in BPCL on November 20, 2019. While announcing that, the government had made it clear that the privatisation process will be excluding the company’s interests in Numaligarh Refinery, which a state-run company will take up. The refinery was set up at Numaligarh in Assam’s Golaghat district in 1993, following the provisions of the Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985.