In view of the Centre's move to privatize the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and its possible impact on Assam's Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal writes a letter to the Centre to clarify the issue.

In a statement, the state government stated BPCL is the largest shareholder of NRL and if BPCL is privatized, NRL will go into the hands of the private players.

The Numaligarh RefineryLimited (NRL) – a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum, Oil India and Govt ofAssam. As of 2014, it had a capacity of 3 million metric tonnes per year. 

The Numaligarh RefineryEmployees' Union (NREU) has demanded the BJP-led central government to retainthe public sector undertaking (PSU) status of NRL after reports of proposeddisinvestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have come out in theopen.

BPCL has four refinerieslocated in Assam, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra with a combinedcapacity to convert 38.3 million tonnes of crude oil into fuel. It has 15,078petrol pumps and 6,004 LPG distributors. The government has 53.23% stake in thecompany and 25% is held by public shareholders.