Govt may part-sell OIL stake

The government is mulling divesting a minority holding in oil exploration firm Oil India Ltd but no decision has been taken on the mode of sale, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Wednesday.

"There is a proposal before me to see how OIL's resources could be strengthened, possibly by adopting such (initial public offer) a route," he said in New Delhi.

The finance ministry is pitching for offloading 15 percent of government holding in OIL through an IPO.

The government currently holds close to 98 per cent stake in unlisted OIL. Previously, the petroleum ministry had favoured sale of 15 to 20 percent of government stake in OIL to state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp to make the latter a fully integrated oil firm.

Aiyar said various options were under consideration and a final decision would be taken by the Cabinet. "Many proposals are being worked out. We have yet to arrive at a conclusion. No decision has been taken as yet," he said.