Cleary Gottlieb represented Mittal Investments S.à.r.l., a Mittal family investment vehicle, in connection with the entering into of a Joint Venture Agreement with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a state-owned Indian company. The deal was signed on March 2.
The Joint Venture Agreement provides for the construction and operation of a 9-million MTPA greenfield refinery at Bathinda in Punjab state, a 1,011-kilometer pipeline between Bathinda and port facilities in Mundra, and a crude oil terminal together with associated facilities in Mundra. Commercial production is expected to start in September 2010 at the latest. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around $4 billion. Each of Mittal Investments and HPCL will initially hold a 50% interest in the venture.
On March 2, Mittal Investments and HPCL also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding whereby they will cooperate in exploring other opportunities in the oil and gas sector, including setting up a 9-million MTPA capacity brownfield refinery and a petrochemical complex in India.