Tehran: Despite the withdrawal by joint venture partner Oman Oil Company, work on the proposed Rs 6,354 crore Bina Oil Refinery in Madhya Pradesh will start later this month with Indian promoter Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) picking up a higher stake, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on May 13.

"Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani will launch the actual construction work of the six million tonne refinery on May 26. The periphery works are already over," Naik, who is leading a high power oil and gas delegation in Tehran for talks to forge ties with Iran in energy sector, said.

So far, only Rs 150 crore have been spent on the project promoted by BPCL, in which government is currently in the process of divesting 34 per cent of its stake.

The construction of the refinery, whose foundation stone was laid in 1995 by the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, was plagued by delays because of objections by environmental activists and subsequent court cases.

PTI