Jazara out of HPCL race for not providing requisite information
The state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has urged the petroleum ministry to seek Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's intervention in recovering its outstanding sales receivables and loans to public sector undertakings (PSUs), which stood at a staggering Rs 5,020 crore on December 31, 2002.
The outstanding amount includes Rs 2,185 crore from regular customers within the allowed credit period and Rs 1,324 crore, including Rs 67 crore on account of loans to PSUs, beyond the permitted credit period. It also includes Rs 1,511 crore, for which claims have not been approved yet.
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ONGC had extended intra-corporate loans to PSUs in 1987-88. Some PSUs which have not repaid the principal and have also defaulted in paying interest are Hindustan Antibiotics Limited, which owes ONGC Rs 21.58 crore, the National Projects Construction Corporation Limited, which owes Rs 23.01 crore, Vayudoot Limited, whose loan stands at Rs 7.88 crore, and Cement Corporation of India Limited, which owes ONGC Rs 14.39 crore.
ONGC has also sought the petroleum ministry's directive on an outstanding loan of Rs 1,940.53 crore from consumers of gas in Gujarat. It has urged that the PSUs involved in the distribution of gas in Gujarat be brought at par with private parties to avoid an adverse impact on the recovery.
The corporation also wants proper accounting treatment for such dues in its books, including managing tax-implications, if any.
In another development, the government has rejected expressions of interest by Jazara of Saudi Arabia and a Hyderabad-based firm for acquiring its 34.01 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
Government officials said the bids of the two companies were rejected because they had not provided the requisite information, for instance net worth, in the papers submitted by them.
The companies left in the race for the government's stake in the blue chip oil refining and marketing company are Reliance Industries, a consortium of Essar Oil, Essar Power and Essar Shipping, Royal Dutch Shell, Kuwait Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, Petronas, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Totalfina and ChevronTexaco.
The government had set March 17 as the last date for submission of preliminary bids for the acquisition of management control and government stake in HPCL.
As per the pre-eligibility criteria set by the government, the bidders