Bharat Petroleum Corporation has a shareholding of 32 per cent, while the Assam government's stake in NRL is 10 per cent. The remaining 39 per cent of the NRL shares belong to the public. Mathur said the new partner could pick up some shares from the public holding in Numaligarh Refineries, but did not rule out possibilities of the promoters divesting their own holdings in favour of the fourth partner. Incidentally, both ONGC and Oil India currently have a common chairman and managing director in Bikash C. Bora.

He also acknowledged that IBP was looking for ``a strategic alliance with anyone who couldgive us a product.'' The company, which does not have a refinery of its own, will get some of the 6.85 lakh tonne petroleum products it sells, from the three-million-tonne capacity Numaligarh Refinery, because of its equity holding.

It will still need a tie-up with a refining company in the year 2002, when the government- monitored supply plan entitlement (SPE) arrangement vanishes. This week IBP made a presentation to the Union petroleum ministry on options for alliances with refining companies.

``Any strategic alliance could be followed by a merger,'' the IBP chief said, without actually naming the refining companies that IBP is talking to. Even as proposals of merging IBP with oil refining companies are being debated, the Disinvestment Commission has recommended a strategic sale of 33.9 per cent government equity in the company.

The Centre's holding in IBP is 59 per cent. Mathur said it was for the Centre to determine the disinvestment options, which also include diluting the government holding inIBP to 49 per cent, through a special purpose vehicle. He added though, that the company would like to be allowed to raise some funds for itself, through an equity issue. ``A portion could be a strategic sale, a portion could be a public issue,'' he suggested. IBP Company has a rather long-pending proposal before the Centre for an equity issue of 37 lakh share of Rs 10 each. The proposal has been approved by IBP Company's shareholders. IBP Company has an equity capital of Rs 22.15 crore.

In anticipation of a public issue, it plans to double its authorised capital to Rs 100 crore, from Rs 50 crore at present. It launched two new products on Friday, an environment friendly radiator coolant and a new brake fluid.