Indian Oil to invest in Africa, Mideast

Indian Oil to invest in Africa, Mideast

BANGALORE: State-run Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) announced on Friday investment plans for Africa and the Middle East, including a refinery in Nigeria.

The company also plans to buy a stake in an Iranian petrochemical plant and raise imports from Iraq. It will also acquire a medium-scale oil exploration and production company and has earmarked US$2 billion for the purpose, Indian Oil chairman and managing director M.S. Ramachandran said in the southern city of Bangalore. He did not give any financial details for the investments.

The government has an 82 percent stake in Indian Oil, which controls nearly half of the country's oil refining capacity and has annual revenues of $29 billion.

The IOC has also joined a consortium that includes India's state-run oil explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and British Petroleum to bid for an oil field expansion in Northern Kuwait, Ramachandran said. -- AP