The Shell-Aramco proposal for a downstream joint venture is yet to fructify, as no decision has been taken on the matter by the Indian government.

However, Breton feels ``the situation in the downstream sector has changed a lot in the recent months. Now there is much more scope and relevance for such a venture as smaller companies are realising the need for pragmatic and fast action.''

The advantage of forging a tie-up with a national downstream major is that it would provide immediate access to an existing marketing and distribution network, he said.

Total is willing to go big as far as investment is concerned, Breton said, adding the company may invest around a billion dollars for the refining plans. ``The other route forentering the Indian downstream sector is the more gradual one of tying up with the stand-alone refining companies,'' he said.

``The stand-alone players like Cochin Refineries Limited and Madras Refineries Limited need to have their own marketing setups by the time the deregulation of the industry is complete. We are already in talks with them for forming alliances,'' he said.

``We are interested in picking up minority stakes in the stand-alone players in exchange for our operational and technological expertise as well as the supply of world class crude,'' Breton said.

``Internationally, Total is quite experienced in running joint refineries with multiple crude sourcing arrangements. We plan to leverage this expertise in our Indian operations,'' he added.