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BP plans to bid for Dabhol Power Company
British oil giant BP Plc said on Friday, in Mumbai, it was interested in bidding for collapsed US energy group Enron Corp`s $2.9 billion Indian power plant.
British oil giant BP Plc said on Friday, in Mumbai, it was interested in bidding for collapsed US energy group Enron Corp's $2.9 billion Indian power plant.
BP joins a list of seven companies that have filed an initial "expression of interest" (EoI) with the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), the project's lead creditor and the one overseeing the sale.
"BP has officially communicated its expression of interest in participating in the due diligence process of the Dabhol Power Company (DPC) on Thursday," a statement from the firm said.
The last date for filing an EoI was February 7, so it is not clear whether IDBI would accept BP's proposal. IDBI officials were not immediately available for comment.
But BP said it believed the acquisition of Enron's Indian asset, a 2,184 MW gas-fired plant, could play a key role in the company's future plans in the gas business. "BP believes that the Dabhol asset is a key piece of infrastructure that if properly restructured could play an important role in the development of the gas business in India," its statement said.
"At this stage BP is not in a position to comment further."
Enron, which has made the largest bankruptcy filing in US history and is the target of investigations by Congress and the Justice Department, owns 65 per cent of Dabhol, its largest investment in Asia.
General Electric Co and US-based contractor Bechtel Corp each have 10 per cent of DPC and the remaining 15 per cent is held by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. The plant, located about 250 km south of Mumbai on the coast of the Arabian Sea, has been idle since June, following a payment dispute with its sole customer MSEB, the nearly bankrupt state power distribution monopoly.
The 740 MW first phase began operating in May 1999 and the 1,444 MW second phase was nearly complete when construction was halted last June after the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) fell $240 million behind in payments for power supplied. Bureau Report
"BP has officially communicated its expression of interest in participating in the due diligence process of the Dabhol Power Company (DPC) on Thursday," a statement from the firm said.
The last date for filing an EoI was February 7, so it is not clear whether IDBI would accept BP's proposal. IDBI officials were not immediately available for comment.
But BP said it believed the acquisition of Enron's Indian asset, a 2,184 MW gas-fired plant, could play a key role in the company's future plans in the gas business. "BP believes that the Dabhol asset is a key piece of infrastructure that if properly restructured could play an important role in the development of the gas business in India," its statement said.
"At this stage BP is not in a position to comment further."
Enron, which has made the largest bankruptcy filing in US history and is the target of investigations by Congress and the Justice Department, owns 65 per cent of Dabhol, its largest investment in Asia.
General Electric Co and US-based contractor Bechtel Corp each have 10 per cent of DPC and the remaining 15 per cent is held by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. The plant, located about 250 km south of Mumbai on the coast of the Arabian Sea, has been idle since June, following a payment dispute with its sole customer MSEB, the nearly bankrupt state power distribution monopoly.
The 740 MW first phase began operating in May 1999 and the 1,444 MW second phase was nearly complete when construction was halted last June after the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) fell $240 million behind in payments for power supplied. Bureau Report