The government has asked state-owned refining major Indian Oil Corp Ltd to prepare an asset monetization plan and get it approved by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management by the end of January, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Cogencis.
“The asset monetization plan will have year-wise milestones, including one for the current fiscal (Apr-Mar),” said one of the sources, who did not wish to be identified. Asset monetization of noncore assets of public sector undertakings is part of the government’s disinvestment strategy. In May, Cogencis had reported that the government aims to garner 80-100 bln rupees in 2020-21 (Apr-Mar) through the asset monetization route.
The disinvestment department plans to sell various land parcels and non-core assets of public sector units like pipelines, buildings, roads, mobile towers, and electricity transmission lines. Although specific details of IOC’s asset monetization plan were not available, it is likely to include monetization of the company’s pipeline and storage infrastructure, sources said.
IOC, the country’s largest refiner, has a network of over 14,600 km of crude oil, petroleum products, and gas pipelines spread all over the country. The company’s pipeline network has a throughput capacity of 94.42 mtpa of oil and 21.69 mscmd of gas. For some time now, there has been considerable speculation that IOC may have to monetize its pipelines at the government’s behest.
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