Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, a joint-venture project between Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Oman Oil Corp, is planning to raise over Rs 1200 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by March 2008 for implementing its 6 million tonnes per year Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.

It may be noted that despite the fact that Bina refinery project had obtained  the approval from the Union government in 1995, its execution was delayed due to various reasons.

In a post-AGM media meet here on Wednesday evening, BPCL CMD Ashok Sinha said, “Having placed orders worth over Rs 7,000 crore and completed 26 per cent of the work, we can safely say that the project is now on target.”

The Bina refinery, estimated to cost Rs 10,400 crore is to be funded through a mix of debt and equity. Explaining, Mr Sinha said as much as Rs 4,000 crore is to come in the form of equity, while the remainder by debt and the project is scheduled to commence operations by 2009.

Replying to a question, Mr Sinha said BPCL and Oman Oil Corp will jointly hold a 52 per cent stake and the remaining 48 per cent will be allotted to private investors and the public.

Refinery
The Bina refinery, according to him, will have crude oil import facilities comprising a single point mooring facility, a crude oil storage terminal at Vadinar in the western state of Gujarat and a 935 km cross-country crude oil pipeline from Vadinar to Bina.

The company also plans to lay a 265 km pipeline from Bina to Kota in the western state of Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 4.06 billion. This pipeline would be connected to the existing Mumbai-Delhi pipeline, Mr Sinha added.