Essar Oil says Rosneft stake buy in advanced due-diligence

Says the Russian oil producer will still take some time before the deal is finally closed

Russia's top oil producer Rosneft is still carrying out due-diligence to buy a stake in Essar Oil Ltd, the Indian group which runs India's second biggest private sector refinery said on Tuesday. Rosneft signed a preliminary deal in July last year to acquire up to 49 per cent in Essar Oil, controlled by the Indian billionaire Ruia brothers. "Rosneft is in advanced stage to conclude the due diligence process and it will still take some time before the deal is finally closed," Managing Director L K Gupta said on a media conference call after announcing quarterly results.

Gupta said the talks with Rosneft were exclusive, and that the company would not comment on "market rumours" on whether Essar Oil was in talks with other global oil and gas companies about further stake sales.
 

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the company was in talks with Saudi Arabia's biggest oil company Saudi Aramco and National Iranian Oil Company to sell a stake in its refinery.