The petroleum ministry is likely to advocate allowing its public sector units like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to bid for acquiring management control in oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, which the government on Monday said would be put on the block.
"In case PSUs like ONGC and GAIL approach us for permission to bid for HPCL, nodal ministry (petroleum) will have to consider it," top ministry officials told PTI in New Delhi.
The compromise formula for breaking the deadlock over divestment in oil PSUs HPCL and BPCL reached at an informal meeting of senior cabinet ministers called by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last Thursday, was silent on participation of PSUs in the divestment process.
"In such a case, the September 7 decision of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment, barring all PSUs from the process, would apply," sources said.
The CCD in September had also decided that a PSU can only be allowed to bid for another state-run firm on the block after the administrative ministry makes a convincing case for it.
Petroleum Minister Ram Naik is likely to make out a case before the CCD for allowing ONGC, gas firm GAIL India Ltd and Oil India Ltd to bid for acquiring HPCL, which as per the last week's compromise formula is to be sold to a strategic investor while an initial public offering of equity shares would be done in case of BPCL.
The quantum of equity to be sold to a strategic partner in HPCL and offloaded to public in case of BPCL would be decided by the CCD.
© 2025