New Delhi, July 12: Freed of government control, fertiliser cooperative giant Iffco is eying a pie in India's second largest oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), where the government is selling its 34 per cent equity. Iffco, that became a fully autonomous cooperative institution after government equity was reduced to 41 per cent from July 1, is seeking an alliance with Royal/Dutch Shell and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for putting in a joint bid for HPCL, its managing director U S Awasthi said.
"We have asked our partner Oman Oil Company to talk to KPC and Shell for forging a consortium for HPCL," he said. KPC and Shell are among the over half-a-dozen firms that put in initial expression of interest (EoI) for acquisition of HPCL that will give the buyer a ready-made distribution network to tap into the world's 7th largest retail oil market worth $15 billion a year in sales. Bureau Report