New Delhi: Government has decided to explore disinvestment of retail operations of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) after splitting the sole Fortune-500 company into two or three assets.

The government would seek a legal opinion on the soundness of the plan and the Ministry of Disinvestment has been authorised to look for judicial option, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said.

He said a kind of swap agreement was being looked into wherein disinvestment in IOC could take place, while some additional assets could be transferred to HPCL and BPCL, which would continue to be government companies till a final decision was take.

"The Ministry of Disinvestment has been authorised to look into judicial options in consultation with Attorney General, Solicitor General and the Law Ministry," Shourie said, emphasising that the government was committed to economic reforms as is evident from the fact that CCD on October 3 cleared six cases for disinvestment.

Shourie said the Petroleum Ministry and his ministry would work in tandem to work out modalities for the third option of disinvestment in IOC within three months.

Declining to elaborate on judicial option, he said swapping options were being considered which is well within the ambit of government's executive power for which freedom was given in the Supreme Court verdict on HPCL and BPCL.

He said HPCL and BPCL have roughly 48 per cent market share in the retail petroleum sector and the government would retain 50-60 per cent in the retail oil market as it deemed appropriate.

Shourie said whether some part of IOC would remain a public sector entity after structural changes would depend upon the joint exercise between the Petroleum and Disinvestment Ministries.

PTI