While ministry officials were unavailable for comment, top industry sources said that there was no way either Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) or Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) would be asked to step down to accommodate NTPC as per the original plan. "The two oil companies will stay on and the ministry is categoric that no further shuffling of equity will occur to suit NTPC," they added.

At present, the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gas Authority of India (GAIL), BPCL, and IOC hold 12.5 per cent equity each in Petronet LNG, with the balance proposed to be offered to other financial and strategic investors. The ministry of power contended that NTPC, being the largest user of LNG, should be given a stake too, following which, both IOC and BPCL were asked to step down.Consequently, the remaining PSUs -- ONGC, GAIL and NTPC -- would hold 16.66 per cent each.

The Pipavav twist has reportedly angered petroleum ministry officials, and the current thinking is that NTPC should not be offered a stake in Petronet or its subsidiaries at Dahej and Cochin. If this move raises the hackles of the power ministry, it is likely that NTPC will be given a slot without dislodging either BPCL or IOC. In this case, there will be five companies holding 10 per cent apiece in Petronet LNG.

This was one of the initial alternatives proposed by the petroleum ministry to NTPC when it sought a stake in the company. However, the other oil PSUs, especially ONGC, were not happy with the prospect of diluting their stakes from 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent in Petronet LNG.

This time around, the news going around in Delhi circles is that both IOC and ONGC are "furious" with NTPC for even considering Pipavav, which is a competing venture with Petronet's project planned at Dahej. GAIL was also given asimilar option to participate at Pipavav, but refused to do so as Dahej was top priority.

In the original plan, the finance ministry was categoric that the boards of BPCL and IOC should approve of their ouster from Petronet to give NTPC an entry. IOC reiterated that there was no way it would step down, as LNG was going to be a key area of its operations in the future.

The Fortune 500 company is also believed to have asked for a 51 per cent stake in Petronet Dahej if had to step down from the equity of the holding company. There is no indication of the petroleum ministry's reaction to the IOC offer, though experts say that this would call for some introspection.

One option is to coerce it to settle for 26 per cent at Petronet Dahej, so that other companies can be given stakes in the project. The other is to stretch the offer to the other subsidiary, Petronet Cochin, where a $500-million terminal is sought to be built. Both options would, however, not apply if IOC continues to be a stakeholder in PetronetLNG.