HPCL and GAIL are looking at setting up a 1 million tonnes Ethylene Derivatives plant, which will produce a wide range of petrochemical raw materials for the manufacture of detergents, paints and coatings, cosmetics, textiles and adhesives.

"Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) from default can now invest from existing 24 per cent up to 40 per cent of the paid up capital of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) under PIS," an RBI notification said today.

Public shareholding in the Mangalore-based refiner is currently just 11.42 per cent, not even half of the mandatory 25 per cent public float required by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for listed companies.

“The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on July 20, 2016, have recommended capitalisation of reserves and issue of fully paid bonus shares in the ratio of 2 (two) bonus equity share of Rs 10 each for every 1 (one) existing equity share of Rs 10 each,” HPCL said in a regulatory filing.

Majority of the capex increase appears to be in the marketing segment which management attributed to new LPG bottling plants, lube blending plants and product pipelines.

Majority of the capex increase appears to be in the marketing segment which management attributed to new LPG bottling plants, lube blending plants and product pipelines.

The state government and a strategic investor who is yet to be brought in will hold the rest.

“Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at $48.26 a barrel by 0238 GMT on Monday, after settling down $2.50, or 4.9 percent, at $48.41 on Friday,” the Reuters report suggests.

Short of own production, state refiners Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) buy about 12 million tonnes of diesel annually from Jamnagar refineries of RIL and the Vadinar unit of Essar.