New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS): Oil India Ltd (OIL), in consortium with Engineers India Ltd (EIL), has decided to bid for acquiring 61.65 per cent stake of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL).

NRL has been carved out from BPCL and is not part of assets that is being sold as part of its privatisation plan.

An OIL statement said that its bid for NRL will be submitted through a formal process. The exact percentage of the stake of OIL and EIL will depend on the extent of Right of First Offer (ROFO) to be exercised by the Assam government, which already holds 12.35 per cent stakes in NRL.

NRL is the largest customer of OIL's crude produced from its northeastern fields. The acquisition is expected to improve the synergy in OIL's portfolio and develop an integrated oil operation involving exploration, refining and marketing.

OIL, while already has 26 per cent stake in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd, is a Navratna PSU, a fully integrated E&P company in the upstream sector, and is the second largest national oil and gas company in India as measured by total proved plus probable oil and natural gas reserves and production. It is engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of LPG. OIL also provides various E&P related services to make it a fully integrated E&P company.

Besides being pan-India E&P company, OIL also has presence overseas, including in Russia, Mozambique, the US, Venezuela, Gabon, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Libya etc. It also has stake in Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL) in the downstream business.