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Indian company may buy Port Harcourt refinery
INDIAN steel company, LN Mittal, has disclosed its intention to acquire a 51% stake in the Port Harcourt refinery in Nigeria, where its joint venture with flagship explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL) has two offshore exploration acreages.
Mittal is savouring its new-found relationship with HPCL which is emerging as the preferred partner for getting into refining and gas business globally. Mittal is becoming an equal partner in HPCL's Rs 16,000 crore Bhatinda refinery and will bring in $728 million for a 49% stake in the SPV for building the plant and laying a 1,100-km pipeline for wheeling crude from Mundra port.
The Petroleum Secretary of India,M.S Srinivasan, disclosed that "This will be the first 49% FDI in Indian refining industry and marks world investor confidence in the sector."
According to him,Mittal is targetting the Nigerian refinery plan through a separate JV with HPCL. The emerging picture points to Mittal building up a portfolio across key oil industry segments. It already has a vehicle for exploration in OMEL.
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