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