State-owned
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) on Wednesday issued a clarification over a news report, titled "BPCL plans to set up new refinery for
₹50,000 crore".
The state-run oil refiner said that there is no such formal proposal that has been initiated. However, the company is exploring various options for refinery expansion.
Earlier on Tuesday, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that the plans to BPCL has been shelved for now.
While assuming charge of the Petroleum and Natural Gas ministry, Puri said that BPCL has made more money in the first three quarters than the stake sale amount.
The company has made a net profit of over
₹19,000 crore in the first half of the financial year 2024.
The privatisation of BPCL was on the NDA government’s disinvestment programme in FY22.
The privatisation was stalled after two out of three bidders walked out over issues like lack of clarity in fuel pricing. Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, US venture funds Apollo Global Management Inc and I Squared Capital Advisors had expressed interest.
BPCL is the country's second-largest oil marketing company after Indian Oil, and with refineries in Mumbai, Kochi, and Madhya Pradesh, it has the third-largest refining capacity after Reliance and Indian Oil.
On the stock-specific front, BPCL's stock was up 1.37% today at
₹615.50 apiece on the NSE. At this price, the counter has gained about 40% so far this year.
