India's Bharat Oman Refineries, an equal joint venture between state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Oman Oil Company, has filed papers for an initial public offer, a senior company official said.

'We are coming to the market with a strong promoter backing and a project which is 50 per cent complete and are confident that our's is a good offer which will be reasonably priced,' DM Naik Bengre, senior vice-president at Bharat Oman said.

Four sources directly involved in the deal, from BPCL and bankers to the issue, had earlier on Friday said the company plans to file for an IPO, shrugging off concerns about investor appetite for offerings.

The sources had said the company planned to sell about 48 per cent through the public offer and a pre-IPO placement to raise up to Rs25 billion ($625 million).

Naik Bengre said the total figure would be known later.

'We have kept the structure of the IPO open and will finalise the actual amount to be raised only after arriving at a price during the pre-IPO placement,' he said.

Bharat Oman is building a 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery at a cost of Rs104 billion, and Naik Bengre said it would be funded through loans of 64bn rupees and remaining through equity.

The refinery at Bina in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is expected to be commissioned in January 2010, Bharat Petroleum said.

Oman Oil's holding in the venture will fall to less than 10 per cent after the IPO, banking sources said. Bharat Petroleum aims to hold up to 48 per cent and its board has approved to invest Rs19.96 billion in the IPO.

The Madhya Pradesh government would also hold about 2 per cent stake in the venture, Naik Bengre said.

The banking and company sources had said Bharat Oman could sell more than 20 per cent in a pre-IPO placement to financial investors.

'We are not talking to strategic investors any more and are keen on having financial investors,' a company source said.