India withdraws Divestment of Bharat Petroleum

The Government of India has decided to cancel all the activities in connection with the disinvestment of its stake in BPCL, including the data room are being discontinued, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.

The decision came after the government recently called off the present Expression of Interest (EOI) process for strategic disinvestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), a state-owned refinery.

The Indian governmnet was planning to sell its whole 53.29% ownership in the state-owned refiner but called it off in the present form citing the inability of the majority of bidders to participate in the privatization.  

According to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) multiple coronavirus waves and geopolitical situations impacted sectors around the world, especially the oil and gas industry.  

Owing to prevailing conditions in the global energy market, the majority of QIPs (qualified interested parties) have expressed their inability to continue in the current process of disinvestment of BPCL, it had said.  

The GoM on disinvestment had agreed to halt the current EoI process for BPCL’s strategic disinvestment, and the EoIs received from QIPs will be canceled, said DIPAM.