Mittal acquires stake in HPCL refinery

Luxembourg-based Mittal Investment, which is owned by steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, says it will form a joint venture with Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL). Mittal and state-owned HPCL will own 49% each in the joint venture, while a financial institution will pick up the remaining 2%. 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. Included in the plan is a crude oil terminal and associated facilities in Mundra. In 2005, Mittal also entered into a joint-venture deal with government-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corp. to jointly acquire oil and gas properties abroad. (December 15, 2006)