Indianoil chairman and managing director, M A Pathan, categorically ruled out am IPO in the immediate future. ``There will be no IPO from IOC,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the exact nature and extent of disinvestment by the Centre in Indian Oil, will have to be reworked all over again. The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment has ruled out a private placement of 2.5 per cent of Indianoil shares with institutional investors in this fiscal. The ultimate divestment may take some other form. The Centre is expected to take a view, not only on the timing of the new issue, but on the extent of divestment in Indian Oil.

Sources associated with the disinvestment exercise said ``all the numbers will now have to be reworked.'' The Union Cabinet had initially approved a 10 per cent disinvestment in Indianoil.

The national oil company had subsequently, soughtpermission from the Centre to tag along a five per cent IPO with the disinvestment. At that point in time, the disinvestment would have taken the form of a global depository receipts (GDR) issue and a domestic float of shares.

Since then, the Centre has approved a 10 per cent equity swap between Indianoil and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which would result in that much of disinvestment in the companies.

The government shareholding in Indianoil was 91 per cent before the 10 per cent share swap was approved. The equity swap between Indianoil and ONGC will mean returns of close to Rs 3,700 crore for the Central Exchequer.

The taskforce on disinvestment examined possibilities of a private placement of another 2.5 per cent of government stake in Indianoil with banks and financial institutions. It discarded the plan last week on the advice of Indianoil's merchant bankers.

The investment bankers were no doubt influenced by stock market perception of the Indianoil scrip. The price of Indianoilshares have dipped on the bourses ever since the share swap was approved late last year. The scrip is trading for close to Rs 301 on Dallal Street now, compared to Rs 369 in January.