BPCL Disinvestment Not Cards For Now: Oil Minister Hardeep Puri

"How can a sale process under competitive bidding go ahead when there is only one bidder?", the minister quipped when asked whether his ministry pursuing BPCL divestment again.

"You know it's not the administrative ministry alone that carries out divestment plans now, but the DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) does it. But as far as I being the line minister is concerned, there is no proposal whatsoever on the BPCL sale as of now on my table," Puri told reporters here.

Last month, the government said that it will decide on re-initiating the process of BPCL strategic sale based on a review of the situation in due course.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad informed the Covid-19 pandemic, energy transition issues and geo-political conditions affected several industries globally, particularly the oil and gas industry.

"Government of India has decided to call off the present EoI process for strategic disinvestment of BPCL. The decision on re-initiation of the strategic disinvestment process of BPCL depends on the review of the situation in due course," Karad had said.

The government in May withdrew its offer to sell its entire 52.98% stake in BPCL, saying that majority of bidders have expressed their inability to participate in the current privatisation process due to prevailing conditions in the global energy market.

The government had planned to sell its entire 52.98% stake in BPCL and invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from bidders in March 2020. At least three bids came in by November 2020.

However, the privatisation was stalled after two bidders walked out over issues, such as lack of clarity in fuel pricing, with just one bidder left in the fray.

"...the majority of Qualified Interested Parties (QIPs) have expressed their inability to continue in the current process of disinvestment of BPCL," Karad said.

Mining mogul Anil Agarwal's Vedanta group, US venture funds Apollo Global Management Inc and I Squared Capital Advisors had expressed interest in buying the government’s stake in BPCL.

But the two funds withdrew after failing to rope in global investors amid waning interest in fossil fuels.

The government had not invited financial bids.

BPCL targets net zero by 2040

The state-refiner plans to scale up its renewable energy portfolio to 10 GW by 2040 - the year it is targeting net-zero carbon emission, chairman Arun Kumar Singh has said.

Addressing the company's annual shareholders' meeting, he said BPCL is diversifying and expanding into adjacent and alternate businesses, which will not only provide additional revenue streams but also offer a hedge against any decline in the oil and gas business.

"The company has identified six strategic areas - petrochemicals, gas, renewables, new businesses, that is, consumer retailing, e-mobility and upstream - which will serve as pillars of future growth and create sustainable value for all stakeholders, while the core business of refining and marketing of petroleum products continues to provide stability and funding bandwidth," he said.

This is with a view to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040, he added.

In the renewable energy space, BPCL plans to scale up its portfolio from less than 50 megawatts today to 1 gigawatt (GW) by 2025 and 10 GW by 2040.