New Delhi, Apr 29: Government has extended nodal agency status to the state-run Shipping Corporation of India for crude oil transportation for two years post privatisation, Rajya Sabha was informed today. "Government has decided that preferential treatment of SCI for crude movement and present favoured treatment of transchart to SCI ships may be continued for 2 years after disinvestment of SCI," minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the upper house of parliament here.
The disinvestment ministry had sought purchase preference by public sector oil firms to SCI after its disinvestment.
Government is likely to invite fresh bids for selling its 51 per cent stake in SCI next month. It has decided to permit foreign participation without any ceiling in the strategic sale of SCI, in line with the FDI policy in the shipping sector.
Only two companies - Essar shipping and Sterlite - had remained in the fray during the previous round of bidding, which the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) scrapped and decided to re-tender.
Government, which currently holds just over 80 per cent stake in SCI, would further divest its residual equity in the company through a public offering to ensure that it continued to be listed on the bourses even after the successful open offer for additional 20 per cent equity by the strategic investor. Bureau Report