Oman firm cuts equity in Indian refinery

The State-run Oman Oil Company (OOC), the investment arm of the sultanate, has cut its equity in the shareholding of India's Bina Refinery to two per cent from the initially planned 26 per cent.

By Our Special Correspondent

Published: Thu 8 May 2003, 12:01 PM

Last updated: Tue 28 Nov 2023, 7:57 AM

An official of the project, who declined to be named, said: "the decision to trim the equity stake is purely business. OOC still thinks the refinery is viable and that is why it is retaining a stake in the project, even though it is small."

OOC and India's Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) were initially to each own a 26 per cent stake in a project that has been marred with delays over its viability.

Officials said that Bharat would now own the majority of the stake, doubling its share to 52 per cent.

"The rest of the shareholding will be raised from banks and private Indian investors," an official said.

The refinery, to be built in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, is expected to be completed by 2006 at a cost of Rs64 billion. The six million tonne refinery project will have a single-point mooring facility and a crude oil terminal. It will also have a 935km pipeline running from Vadinar in the Gulf of Kutch to Bina in Madhya Pradesh.

This is the second OOC investment with Indian partners. It is currently building a $1 billion fertiliser plant in the sultanate's eastern coastal town of Sur. OOC holds a 50 per cent stake in the project while India's Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd (KRIBCHO) and the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) will hold the rest.

OOC is actively pursuing overseas investments and last month it acquired a ten per cent stake in Spanish fuel storage and transport firm Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos.