After LIC, govt now mulls selling part of Bharat Petroleum - Report

Initially, the government had aimed to raise $8-$10 billion from selling its full stake in BPCL.

The central government is considering selling up to a quarter of state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), according to a Reuters report. This comes as the government sold over 22.13 crore shares or 3.5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) through the initial public offering (IPO). The successful IPO fetched Rs 20,557 crore for the exchequer.

The government is considering inviting bids for a 20 per cent to 25 per cent stake in BPCL, instead of an outright sale of its entire 52.98 per cent holding, after failing to attract suitors for the whole firm. The discussions about the plan were in the early stages, according to the Reuters report.

Initially, the government had aimed to raise $8-$10 billion from selling its full stake in BPCL. Having drawn up plans four years ago, it invited bids in 2020, hoping major players such as Russia's Rosneft might be interested.

But Rosneft and Saudi Aramco did not bid, as low oil prices at that time and weak demand curbed their investment plans.

The government officials said even a part sale of BPCL was unlikely to be completed this fiscal year as the process would take over 12 months. Sale prospects were hit by inconsistent policies on petrol and diesel prices, one of them said, Reuters reported.

"There were many issues but most recently petrol prices not being raised for four months between November and February were presumed due to elections by the government," the official said.

There were elections in five states, including the bellwether Uttar Pradesh, in February and pump prices only started moving up from March 22, by which time the BJP had won in four out of five states.