Earlier, Oman Oil had bought time till mid-September this year to give commitment on their stake in the project. However, sources informed that the oil company has now appointed a consultant and may announce their final decision once the report is ready. The report is expected to be ready by early next month, sources said.

Oman Oil was to hold 26 per cent stake in the project. But due to a five-year delay in the project implementation, Oman Oil plans to re-evaluate the cost estimates, sources added. The company is also likely to review its stake in the project depending on what the consultants report on the project review.

The project has been facing problems on several fronts, including environment related. The delay in getting the required clearances has led to cost escalations to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore. The initial cost of the project was estimated at Rs 7,500 crore. However, BPCL officials maintain that the JV is still on. They added that the response from Oman Oil has been favourable in spite of the delay in implementing the project. At no point has Oman Oil given any indication that they wanted to back out from the project, claim BPCL officials. However, they admit that Oman Oil is treading very cautiously and does not want to take any chances.

In the midst of this, BPCL is reportedly holding talks with the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) for pumping investment into the refinery project. Sources said that ONGC had shown keen interest but backed out following the poor progress made in the implementation of the project.BORL is one of the three joint sector refineries announced by the ministry of petroleum in 1993. The other two were the west coast refinery which was a JV between Oman Oil and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and the east India refinery, a JV between IOC and Kuwait Petroleum. The west coast refinery has been shelved while Kuwait Petroleum has backed out from the east coast project and IOC is implementing it on its own.