NRL, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister AB Vajpayee on Friday next, is supposed to raise 39 per cent of the equity capital from the public which it is holding back due to the fluctuations in the primary market.

``We are monitoring the market as heavy fluctuations are going on. In fact we are not in a great hurry,'' said a senior NRL official adding that of the total 39, OIL had decided to pick up 10 per cent.

``Although OIL has been given navratna status, making it free to invest anywhere without consulting the government, the board is yet to be restructured and due to bureaucratic delay, they have not not been able to complete the formalities with us,'' he said.

This fourth and largest refinery of the state, with an output of 3 mmtpa, is being jointly promoted by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Indo-Burma Petroleum (IBP) and the Assamgovernment.

The BPCL has a stake of 32 per cent in the venture while IBP and Assam government have 19 and 10 per cent respectively. The holdings also reflected their representations in the board.

With OIL coming into the venture with 10 per cent equity, it will also be a major player in the board room. NRL higher-ups indicated that they were not not averse to big investment like OIL in the remaining portion too.

NRL sources further informed that NRL had borrowed Rs 1,333 crore from the Oil Industries Development Board (OIDB) at the rate of 14 per cent which eventually had gone down to 10 per cent with this new financial year.

NRL, after failing to come to an agreement with financial institutions, also borrowed money from the Union Bank, Canara Bank and now United Bank of India (Rs 168 crore).