The government will complete the sale of cash-rich oil refiners Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation in six to eight months, Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said on Wednesday.

The government plans to offer 34.01 per cent in HPCL to a strategic partner and make a public offer of 35.2 per cent in BPCL in domestic and international markets.

"The transactions (of HPCL and BPCL) will take six to eight months," Shourie told lawmakers in Parliament.

The government has already invited initial bids for HPCL, ignoring trade union threats to stall the sale.

Employees of state-run oil firms have threatened to block the HPCL sell-off by going on strike and not allowing bidders to inspect the company's installations.