BS cited Mr Arun Balakrishnan chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp as saying that Mr LN Mittal's Mittal Energy Investments has decided to put on hold its investment in the proposed INR 50,000 crore JV refinery project at Visakhapatnam.

Mr Balakrishnan said that "Mr Mittal want to pause their investment in the project at the moment due to the current economic meltdown and has asked us to go ahead with the project."

The project is being planned by a 5 way JV involving HPCL, French oil major Total SA, Mittal Energy, Oil India and GAIL. The integrated project will include a 15 million tonne per year refinery along with a petrochemical unit.

Mr Balakrishnan however said that Mittal Energy will continue with its investments in the upcoming INR 18,900 crore refinery projects in Bathinda.

HPCL and Mittal Energy have formed a JV Guru Gobind Singh Refineries for setting up the 9 million tonne refinery, which is likely to be commissioned in early 2011.