[1/2]FILE PHOTO-A private security guard stands in front of the regional head office of oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) in Kolkata, India, November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
BENGALURU, June 28 (Reuters) – State-owned oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum (BPCL.NS) said on Wednesday it approved raising up to 180 billion rupees ($2.19 billion) through an issue of equity shares on a rights basis underscoring India’s push to achieve net zero-emissions goals.
The details of the issue, including the price, right entitlement and timing will be intimated separately after the board approval, it said in an exchange filing.
The company had last week said the funds will be used to achieve “energy transition, net zero and energy security objectives.”
The Indian government is set to inject multi-billion-dollar equity in its three big state refiners – Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL.NS) – in return for funding towards the firms’ energy transition projects.
The three refiners together aim to invest 3.5-4 trillion rupees to achieve their net zero-emissions goals by 2040, sources told Reuters last week.
Indian Oil, which is also planning to launch a rights issue, on Saturday approved doubling its authorised share capital to 300 billion rupees.
The oil ministry had also asked Hindustan Petroleum to make a preferential share allotment to the government, per the Reuters report.
($1 = 82.0210 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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