Malaysia's national oil company Petronas and Trinidad and Tobago's oil firm Petrotrin have also shown keen interest in joining the project but no final decision has been taken in selecting the foreign partner, Pathan said. He said the detailed feasibility report for the project estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crore at current prices has already been submitted to the government for approval and first stage clearance obtained.

The exact location has not yet been identified but Nagapattinam is one of the sites being considered, he said. Pathan said Mobil was also interested in joining IOC for the project for which theequity pattern was yet to be finalised for the foreign partner.

As per current plan, both IOC and MRL would hold 26 per cent equity in the project and the rest would be decided once the foreign partner is finalised, he said. Pathan said IOC's investment would be financed through internal resources but the company could afford to borrow from financial institutions if the need arises.