The government's plan to sell a 53.29% stake in BPCL was announced on 1 November 2019 and is part of a broader program to place or sell bets in dozens of state-owned companies.
New Delhi (Natural Energy News): India is "acting very cautiously" in its plan to privatize the oil-fueled Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a sign on Tuesday that the process could be delayed.
New Delhi's plan to sell its 53.29% stake in BPCL was first announced in November 2019 and is part of a broader program to sell or sell bets in dozens of state-owned companies. India had planned to sell the stake by the end of the financial year by March 2021.
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"Bharat Petroleum's division is very much on the cards," Pradhan said at a virtual energy conference.
"But we would all appreciate looking at the net worth and size ... how to unload (at) the government very carefully (through) (one) due process".
Last month, Reuters reported that BPCL's privatization could begin in the next fiscal year that begins in April 2021 and Saudi Aramco and Russia may not participate in the Rosneft bid because low oil prices affect their investment plans.
In November last year, BPCL shares saw a jump of around 38% as fuel demand was banned in India to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
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Pradhan said that for the long term, India's demand for refined products is expected to grow, requiring a 40% increase in the country's refining capacity by 2030, or 7 million barrels per day (bpd) per year.
There are plans to build a 1.2 million bpd refinery and petrochemical plant on the west coast of the country through a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, India's state refiner.
But the project has been held up because the joint venture has not yet acquired the land after farmers' protests.
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Pradhan said that local issues affecting the project would be resolved soon.
The minister also said that the federal government plans to gradually eliminate subsidy on LPG.
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