The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre on a Public Interest Litigation challenging the legality of the government's decision to privatise public sector oil firms Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.
Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation have backed out of Gail's Vizag-Secunderabad LPG pipeline.
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 is likely to sell 20 per cent of its equity in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd in the overseas market while another 15 per cent stake would be offloaded in the domestic markets.
Balmer Lawrie & Company, whose 61.97 per cent stake is slated to be divested by the Centre, is unlikely to be sold off during the current fiscal.
Bharat Petroleum Company Ltd has entered into a swap transaction worth Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion), making it the first interest rate derivative deal among the public sector entities in India.
The divestment ministry said on Thursday that the inter-ministerial group on the divestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation would meet next week to discuss the quantum of shares to be offered in the domestic and global markets.
The divestment ministry is now all set to flag off the process of divestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation with the Inter-Ministerial Group scheduled to meet on February 13.
The former beat Air India while the latter got the better of Bharat Petroleum in the semi-finals of the Shastri hockey tournament.\n\n
Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has said the sale of stakes in two state-run oil refiners does not need parliamentary approval.
The Union government may dilute its share in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd to 26 per cent, an issue which goes to the Cabinet Committee on Divestment, company's director (marketing) S Radhakrishnan said.
Petroleum Minister Ram Naik has mooted sale of 12-15 per cent of government equity in oil refiner Indian Oil Corporation and exploration giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in the capital markets to shore-up state finances.
Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee's response on the privatisation of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is likely to be known later this week.
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp has offered to take Hindustan Petroleum Corp as equal partner in the Rs 6,354 crore (Rs 63.54 billion) Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.
A day ahead of a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment, Defence Minister George Fernandes said he favoured public sector units like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to be allowed to bid for HPCL.
Petrol price was on Monday hiked by Rs 2.19 a litre and diesel by 98 paise per litre.
Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said Tuesday the SEBI has initiated an investigation into the fall of share prices of BPCL and HPCL.
Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on Thursday termed as an "obstacle" the Supreme Court ruling halting the privatisation of oil firms HPCL and BPCL and said the government will "manoeuvre" it to keep the momentum of divestment programme.
Divestment Minister Arun Shourie will soon make a statement on stake sales in two state-run oil firms following a consensus reached on the issue by a group of top ministers.
Five out of the top 10 companies in Fortune 500 list of Indian companies are from the oil sector.
Oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, on Monday announced a mega foray into oil exploration and production business and has earmarked a budget of Rs 1,000-1,500 crore (Rs 10-15 billion).
Indian Oil Corp is unlikely to bid for a share in six new pipelines being built by Reliance Industries to transport fuel from its refinery to its planned chain of petrol stations.\n\n\n\n
After Indian Oil Corporation, state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation is planning to take over petrol stations in Sri Lanka, company chairman and managing director S Behuria said on Friday.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corp has asked the government to review the scheme of sharing of liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene subsidy with upstream firms and said the scheme should not be extended beyond March 2004.
The Indian racing ace was named Brand Ambassador of Bharat Petroleum and their product Speed on Wednesday.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd will invest Rs 631 crore (Rs 6.31 billion) in extending its 609-km Mumbai-Manmad-Indore petroleum product pipeline to Piyala, near Delhi.
Petrol and diesel prices are likely to go up by at least Rs 2 per litre after the Lok Sabha polls, once the current freeze on revising prices in step with the cost of the raw material -- crude oil -- is lifted.
