Indian Government in Favour of Merging Chennai Petroleum with Indian Oil

Indian government is exploring the idea of merging Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) with its parent, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) to bring the standalone refinery under one umbrella.

Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said by merging CPCIL with IOCL, there can be a petrochemical hub to meet the growing petroleum products needs of south India, Indo Asian News Service (IANS) reported.

Pradhan was in southern Indian city of Chennai to participate in the golden jubilee celebrations of CPCL and inaugurate the moulded bullet facility to store liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

In his address on the occasion, he said the next expansion of CPCL should happen under the umbrella of IOCL. But for the merger to happen, technicalities like shareholding of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in CPCIL have to addressed, he added.

He said post lifting of sanctions against Iran, the scenario has changed and the issue was also discussed with Iranian authorities during his visit to Iran and the US, IANS added.