MRPL NEWS

India's HPCL is planning the acquisition of MRPL which has hit a cash hurdle at the moment. The parent company of HPCL, ONGC, wants to go for cash instead of a share-swap, informed the sources. ONGC acquired HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore last year. However, all this time HPCL has been talking about the acquisition through the Oil Ministry and media and is not yet ready with a concrete proposal.

If sources were to be believed, state-owned refiner, MRPL has inked a term deal with Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) to buy 1.5 million tonnes of Basra oil in 2019. MRPL, which runs a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery in India, is seeking to diversify its crude imports. MRPL didn’t comment on the matter.

If sources were to be believed, HPCL is planning to use a combination of shares, oil bonds and cash to complete the payment required to acquire and merge MRPL. To acquire the 83% of MRPL’s share, HPCL will have to expend nearly ₹11,500 crore. The agreement between HPCL and MRPL might put off the planned merger of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL) with parent MRPL, considering tax benefits.

If sources were to be believed, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) in India bought its first supply of Basra heavy crude from Royal Dutch Shell, through a tender released by the oil major. The delivery of a million barrel of oil is scheduled in September of this year. MRPL might blend the Basra crude with the lighter grades to make the refinery process simpler.

HPCL's CMD Mukesh K. Surana has stated that HPCL is looking towards acquiring MRPL by the end of the financial year 2018-19. A lot of synergies will arise from this merger for both HPCL and MRPL, all the while boosting HPCLs refining capacity and adding more products to its output. HPCL was acquired by ONGC earlier this year for Rs. 36,915 crores.