Essar Oil in talks with banks to convert debt into dollars

Essar Oil is in talks with domestic and foreign banks to complete converting its rupee debt into dollars in the next two quarters, its chief financial officer Suresh Jain told reporters.

Earlier on Wednesday, the refiner said it had narrowed its quarterly net loss to Rs 860 crore for April-June period, compared with a loss of Rs 1520 crore a year earlier. It is India's second-largest private refiner and operates a 405,000 barrels per day refinery at Vadinar in western India.

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Essar Oil, majority owned by London-listed Essar Energy, to raise $2.27 billion of which it has raised $820 million so far.

The Indian firm, controlled by billionaire brothers Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia, has been replacing its rupee debt with lower-cost, overseas loans.

Copyright: Thomson Reuters 2013