ONGC already has a 40 per cent stake in MPT. Both HPCL and IOC had earlier stated that they would join the race to pick up the stake once the bidding is carried out. The other PSU, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), however, is understood to be keeping out of the race as this upstream activity is not on its list of priority, sources said.

Sources added that the three companies will bid separately for buying out Enron's stake in the project. The floor price of the stake - which has not yet been voiced by Enron - will be finalised in a couple of weeks, said sources. "The company is in the process of inviting bids for selling the stake," according to Enron officials.

Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL), which hold 30 per cent in MPT, is also keen on acquiring the 30 per cent stake. The company has said that it is exploring the possibility of taking part in the bidding process.

The US-based Enron had announced its decision to quit from the MPT joint venture project, and this was an effort to rebalance assests in India, and other parts of the world while expanding into trading operations and communications infrastructure. Sources said that the sale of the equity can go through a process of open bidding for which Enron needs a formal approval from the government.

The MPT oil fields were intially developed by ONGC. The RPL-Enron consortium was included in the joint venture five years back. ONGC has already invested over Rs 650 crore for its efforts and believes that it should be given the first right of refusal. Enron, however, prefers a competitive bidding process for conducting the stake sale so as to get a better price realisation for its stake.