BPCL to sell NRL stake for Rs 9,876 cr

New Delhi: Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Monday said it will exit Numaligarh refinery in Assam by selling its entire stake to a consortium of Oil India Ltd and Engineers India Ltd for Rs 9,876 crore.

The sale of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd clears the way for privatisation of India's second-largest fuel retailer. In keeping with the Assam Peace Accord, the government had decided to keep Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in the public sector.

As part of this, BPCL was to sell its entire 61.65 per cent stake to state-owned firms. A consortium of Oil India Ltd, Engineers India Ltd, and the Government of Assam expressed interest in buying the stake and the BPCL board on Monday approved the sale.

"The board of directors of BPCL at the meeting held on March 1, 2021, has approved the proposal for sale of entire equity shares of 445.35 crore held by BPCL in NRL to a consortium of OIL and EIL and to Government of Assam," the firm said in a filing to the stock exchanges.

Total consideration would be Rs 9,875.96 crore. The consortium of OIL and Engineers India Ltd is likely to acquire 49 per cent and the rest 13.65 per cent will be sold to the Government of Assam. NRL operates a 3 million tonnes per annum oil refinery in Assam. OIL currently holds 26 per cent equity in NRL while the Government of Assam has around 12.35 per cent.