 Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), India's second-largest oil refining and marketing company, has decided to foray into the oil and gas exploration market with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The company is also exploring the possibility of participating in the bid process of Tata Petrodyne, the exploration and production (E&P) division of Tata Power that is put on block. Says HPCL chairman M B Lal: "Initially we will start with Rs 500 crore. But as we want to bid for a bigger oil block the amount can go up." HPCL plans to bid for exploration in the latest round of oil and gas blocks announced by the Indian government in May 2003. The government invited bids for exploration in 24 oil and gas blocks under the fourth round of its New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). HPCL finance director C Ramulu says the company is in advanced talks with various international oil exploration companies for a joint bid for the oil blocks under NELP IV. Over 70 oil and gas blocks have already been awarded to various oil companies under the previous three rounds of the policy, attracting $1.05 billion in investment. On the Tata Petrodyne bid, a senior HPCL official says: "We have not taken a final decision; we are now weighing possibilities." Tata Power, which is considering the sale of its stake in Tata Petrodyne, has reportedly received more than 10 bids for Tata Petrodyne so far. Among state-owned oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation has already submitted a bid, while the board of directors of Gail Ltd has approved a bid for Tata Petrodyne. Ramulu says Prize Peto, the HPCL subsidiary, has already conducted various studies on overseas E&P markets and HPCL also plans to acquire some oil blocks abroad. Lal says HPCL is looking at overseas markets, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "We have been shortlisted by the Sri Lankan government to set up retail outlets. The financial bids will be submitted by January 2004." HPCL is also closely watching the oil privatisation process in Bangladesh. Arun Balakrishnan, HRD director, HPCL, says the company has sent a proposal to the government for the introduction of a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for 1,000 of its employees. The VRS will cost HPCL around Rs 50 crore. During the current year, HPCL recorded the highest ever turnover of Rs 52,605 crore with the highest-ever profit of Rs 1,537 crore. The company also announced a dividend payout of 200 per cent, amounting to Rs 757 crore.
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