Mittal to form JV with HPCL

India’s Mittal Investment says it will form a joint venture with Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL). The company said Mittal Investments and the state-run company would hold 49% each in the joint venture, while a financial institution will pick up the remaining 2%. Mittal Investments is fully owned by industrialist L.N. Mittal and is registered in Luxembourg. With this investment, the Mittal group will mark its entry into the oil-refining business.  The company entered into a joint-venture deal with government-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corp. in 2005 to jointly acquire oil and gas properties abroad. The project entails setting up a 9-million-ton greenfield refinery at a cost of US$5.72 billion and laying a 684-mile crude oil pipeline from northern Bhatinda to the Mundra coast in western Gujarat state. Also planned is a crude oil terminal and associated facilities in Mundra.  (December 15, 2006)