The union minister for petroleum and natural gas Ram Naik Wednesday said that the possibility of Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) participation in Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) cannot be ruled out even though the Chatterjee Group has got management control of the company. Naik, who inaugurated the Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) of IOC Haldia, told reporters that The oil PSU is a knowledgeable player in this field and it wanted 26 per cent equity in HPL.
“In the changed scenario, it is not a closed chapter'', Naik added. “Talks can be held on this matter'', the minister said.
On Saturday, the West Bengal government, one of the principal shareholders of HPL, decided to give management control with 51 per cent equity to another promoter, Purnendu Chatterjee, in preference to IOC. Earlier, the West Bengal government approached IOC to invest in equity of the financially-troubled company, following which the PSU appointed KPMG to carry out the feasibility study.
Purnendu Chatterjee, however, was strongly opposed to IOC getting management control of HPL, and clinched the deal following a closed-door meeting with the state government.
The state industries minister, Nirupam Sen, said that all further negotiations regarding HPL would be carried out by Purnendu Chatterjee and the government would not be involved in any matter.
IOC's participation in operational aspects of HPL was also possible as the oil company was a naphtha supplier to the petrochemicals firm.
Bureau Report