IOC offers to take 26 pc in MHBPL

IOC offers to take 26 pc in MHBPL
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JAN 2: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has offered to salvage the Rs 600 crore Mangalore-Hasan-Bangalore Pipeline Ltd (MHBPL) by taking 26 per cent stake as Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) is believed to be reluctant to take its share of equity.

MHBPL, being floated as a subsidiary of Petronet India Ltd to construct pipelines for carrying petroleum products on a common carrier principle, was to have HPCL as a lead partner with 26 per cent stake but the company was now willing to take only 13 per cent share.

When contacted IOC's pipelines director S N Jha said his company had offered to take 26 per cent stake in the subsidiary, the same as Petronet, to ensure timely completion of the project.

HPCL officials could not be contacted for their comments. Jha, who is also a director the Petronet India, a joint venture set up by the national oil companies to spread a network of pipelines in the country for smooth and economic transportation of the petro products, said that the composition of the MHBPL wasyet to be finalised.

He said that Reliance, which has a 10 per cent stake in the Petronet India, had also offered to pick 10 per cent stake in MHBPL.

Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemcials Ltd would take 13 per cent stake in the MHBPL project, Jha said adding that financial institutions are also likely to have stake in the project.

IOC's offer to pick up stake in MHBPL comes in the wake of the corporation's plan to augment capacities of crude oil and product pipelines for which it has planned an investment of Rs 8,000 crore up to the Tenth Plan period, he said.

The corporation is the lead company for executing the Rs 667 crore Vadinar-Kandla pipeline.