The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) last week gave Wholesale O ring in-principal approval of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) buying out governments entire 51. But that does not mean government has sold the company.From being a mere oil and gas producer, it will also have downstream oil refining and fuel retailing business.11 per cent stake in fuel retailing and marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. So now ONGC will be able to better manage its risks," he said. HPCL will continue to be a separate listed company.8 million tonnes of annual oil refining capacity to ONGCs portfolio, making it the third-largest refiner in the country after IOC and Reliance Industries.

11 per cent stake as the deal wont trigger takeover norms as did the IOC-IBP merger in 2002, a senior government official said. "IOC and IBP merger had happened through bidding route."So, if one of the companies keeps the shares of the other, it is a related party transaction.ONGC will not have to make an open offer to minority shareholders of HPCL as the governments holding is being transferred to another state-run firm and the ownership isnt really changing. "Through this vertical integration, what private sector could not achieve, the government has achieved," he added."The company suspected something fishy was happening and complained to us, and during investigations we found this was an organised ring," he said.

More than 75 people, many drivers and contractors working at the oilfield, are still wanted in connection with the heists, said district police chief Gangandeep Singla.The oil was sold to two small factory owners nearby, who stockpiled the crude in underground tanks before selling it on to clients across India.India imports nearly 82 percent of its crude oil to meet its energy requirements. More than 30 trucks have been seized, with numbers likely to grow, police said.The drivers were disabling their GPS devices to avoid tracking and detection.Local media reported Rs. 49 crore worth of oil could have been stolen in total from the oilfield run by a subsidiary of British mining giant Vedanta Resources.In February, police in Uttar Pradesh arrested nearly a dozen people accused of stealing nearly Rs.