Bangalore: The government has asked Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to submit in writing its proposal to buy a stake in public sector oil undertakings HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd) and BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd), whose disinvestment has been halted by a Supreme Court verdict, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Ram Naik said on October 11.

"A proposal should be made by the board...I have told the IOC Chairman to prepare your argument properly, present it to the ministry…we will look into it," Naik told reporters after inaugurating the "Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore" petroleum product pipeline at Devangonthi on the outskirts of the city.

"I have asked the IOC Chairman to discuss the proposal with the IOC Board of Directors and submit it in writing," he said when asked about his comments in Mumbai where he had mentioned that the IOC chief had informally suggested buying stake in HPCL and BPCL, which were on the disinvestment list.

Naik reiterated that the government had three proposals including evolving a consensus among political parties and getting the Parliament clear the disinvestment of the two oil majors, besides selling a part of the 82 per cent government's stake in IOC.

"We have set a deadline of three months to try out on any of three options. We will also receive feedback from all quarters on the disinvestment issue," he said.

The 336-km-long pipeline to transport petroleum goods from Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd, has been built at a cost of Rs 667 crore by Petronet MHB Ltd, a joint venture between HPCL and Petronet India Ltd.

PTI