Induction of overseas partner in HPCL's Bhatinda project?

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) is to finalise an overseas joint venture partner for its 9 million tpa refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab. The foreign partner will be offered a 26% equity participation in the project. Besides a Saudi Arabian company, British Petroleum and the French company Total are understood to be among the contenders. The Rs 12,000 crore refinery project called the Guru Gobind Singh Refineries Ltd. (GGSR), will also see downstream expansion. HPCL proposes to develop a petrochemical plant at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore at the Bhatinda refinery complex. Either a naphtha cracker or an aromatic complex will add economic value to the refinery.