Privatisation-bound BPCL acquires OQ's stake in Bina refinery

Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Wednesday said it has acquired partner OQ's entire stake in the Bina refinery project in Madhya Pradesh for Rs 2,400 crore.

BPCL signed a sales purchase agreement with OQ, formerly known as Oman Oil Company Ltd, to acquire its 36.6 per cent stake in Bharat Oman Refineries Limited, the company said in a statement.

With this, BPCL now has full control over BORL, which runs a 7.8 million tonnes per annum capacity oil refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.

"Bharat Oman Refineries Limited was incorporated in 1994 as a public limited company with equal equity participation of BPCL and OQ. Since March 2020, BPCL has been holding 63.4 per cent and OQ 36.6 per cent equity in the company. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has a minor stake in the company through compulsorily convertible warrants," the statement said.

For OQ's stake, BPCL will pay about Rs 2,400 crore, it said.

Commenting on the occasion, N. Vijayagopal, Director (Finance) of BPCL said, "With the acquisition of OQ's entire stake in BORL, BPCL will establish control over BORL. This is expected to bring immense advantages to both the companies in terms of synergies and optimization of returns and will facilitate any future expansion or diversification in Bina."

BPCL is India's second-largest oil marketing company, with refineries in Mumbai, Kochi and Bina having a combined capacity of around 37 million tonnes per annum.

Its distribution network comprises around 18,000 petrol pumps, 6,600 LPG distributorships, 52 LPG bottling plants, 58 aviation service stations, and 4 cross-country pipelines.

The government is selling its entire stake in BPCL.