By Express News Service
CHENNAI: IndianOil Corporation’s subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) might have a mere 90-day window to figure out what impact any likely sanction by the United States on Iran would have on the refinery.
The public sector firm, in which Naftiran Intertrade, the Swiss subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company holds nearly 15 per cent stake, said it would have to figure out a way to procure crude in case sanctions are imposed on the country.
“We are a significant buyer of Iranian crude. So I’m sure we’d be able to find out a solution which is good for the company and the country,” said Sanjiv Singh, chairman of IndianOil, at an event on Thursday.
However, in the case of a geopolitical situation where the oil prices are no more lead by fundamentals, the public sector company would also seek alternative ways of catering to the Indian market.
IndianOil Corp has started importing shale oil into India since November last year.
However, much is in tow for Chennai Petroleum Corporation. The company is also in the middle of getting a BFIR approval for the refurbishment of a massive Rs 27,000 crore Nagapattinam refinery, meeting the
refinery needs due to an advancement in BS-VI implementation and the merger talks with IOC that would save the company in a volatile market situation.
CPCL has been through a rough patch in the recent years and was even referred to the BIFR in 2014-15, due to the dilution of more than 50 per cent in its net worth, to Rs 1,655 crore as on March 31, 2015.
The company managed to turn around in 2016 and by end of March 2017, its net worth was Rs 3,314 crore.
However, the company’s profit after tax fell to Rs 913 crore as against the Rs 1,365 crore during 2016-2017, mainly due to the inclusion of the previous year’s tax incidence.
