HPCL may ally with Total, Kuwait Petro
By TNN |
Highlights
NEW DELHI: HPCL is in talks with Total of France and Kuwait Petroleum to take them on as partners in the Vizag refinery in Andhra Pradesh. Total may pick up a stake in the expansion of the refining capacity of Vizag plant, adjacent to the existing refinery.
���We are in talks with Total and Kuwait for a possible partnership in the 9 million tonne (MT) expansion at our Vizag refinery,��� HPCL chairman & managing director MB Lal said. The existing refinery with installed capacity of 7.5 million tonnes per year, is being expanded by another 9 million tonnes per year.
The expansion is being done separately in the same complex. The proposed expansion will need an investment of Rs 12,000 crore, which includes a petrochemical plant. It is likely that Total may partner with a firm in Kuwait to jointly pick-up the stake.
���Even in this case, out shareholding will be equal to the joint shareholdings of the two (foreign) firms in the refinery,��� Mr Lal said. Mr Lal said: ���HPCL is negotiating with Total, but no agreement in this regard has been signed.��� The deal is likely to be formalised in 2-3 months time, he added.
He said that after Total (along with its partner) picks up the stake, the company may explore a possibility for launching an initial public offering. ���IPO is a possibility,��� he said. The size and the timing of the IPO will be decided at a later stage. It is understood that even after an IPO, HPCL and its would-be partner, Total, will have an equal equity stake.
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The Vizag refinery is currently operating at 8.5 million tonnes per annum capacity. The rising demand has forced HPCL to set up another unit in the same complex, which is like setting up a greenfield refinery.Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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