The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its approval to the acquisition by Russian oil major Rosneft of India's second largest private oil company Essar Oil for approximately US$13bn, including Essar Oil's US$4.5bn debt.
The transaction was announced in October 2016. Under the terms of the agreement, Rosneft would take over a 49% stake in Essar Oil's refinery port and service stations. Essar Oil operates the second largest refinery in India, the 20 Mt/year Vadinar Refinery, and plans to implement a modernisation programme to expand the refinery’s capacity up to 25 Mt/year, including production of 1 Mt/year of propylene and polypropylene. Essar Oil Limited also owns 2,700 fuelling stations in India and plans to expand its network up to 5,000 stations.
The transaction will enable Rosneft to enter the Indian market and boost its positions in the Asia Pacific region.