Chevron says evaluating options on Reliance Petroleum's stake

Chevron had bought its 5 percent holding at the IPO price for $300 million.

"We believe that Reliance Petroleum's rich valuation and the fact that Reliance sold a 4 percent stake to the market, may imply a possible future Chevron exit unless there is meaningful pullback in the market," Goldman Sachs said in a note on Monday.

Shares in Reliance Petroleum ended down fell 2.6 percent at Rs.204.05 in a Mumbai market that rose 2 percent.

The stock had hit a lifehigh of Rs.295 on Nov. 1, on speculation Chevron may increase its stake in the company, but the rise in prices was a deterrent for the U.S. firm to raise its stake, analysts said.

"We note that increasing its stake to 29 percent... would mean a significant investment of more than $5.5 billion for Chevron," Goldman Sachs said.

If Chevron exercises its option to raise its holding at current prices, it would effectively almost fully finance the $6 billion refinery, brokerage Kotak Securities said in a note.