Enron, which has put up for sale its stake in the oil and gas property, turned down downstream petroleum refining and marketing company IOC's initial non-binding bid on grounds that it did not have enough "exposure" to exploration and production (E&P) Activities, top company sources said here.

With the rejection of IOC's bid, the Houston-based company's joint venture partners - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance - who hold 40 and 30 per cent shares respectively, are the main contenders left in the fray for acquiring stake in the fields in Gujarat and Mumbai offshore region, sources said.

Enron, which has accepted non-binding bids of both ONGC and Reliance, had set a flexible timeframe for making price bids, the sources said, adding, while ONGC is likely to make the financial bid next week, Reliance is expected to do the same by the month-end.

Enron Oil and Gas India Ltd (EOGIL), which is the operator of the 900- million dollar joint venture, had in October last year, sought government permission to withdraw from the fields, which produces around 300 million cubic metres of gas and 29,000 barrels of oil per day, as part of its asset rebalancing exercise.

ONGC had hired merchant banker NM Rothschild India as its consultant for the two-stage bidding process, comprising non-binding EOI and a detailed financial bid from the shortlisted companies, the sources said.

While Enron is believed to have pegged the sale price of its stake in the venture at 700 million dollar, independent evaluations by various domestic and international companies have discounted the figure between $250 million to $380 million, they said.

(PTI)