India firms may join Reliance in East Timor-paper

MUMBAI Dec 31 (Reuters) - State-run oil firms Indian Oil (IOC) (IOC.BO) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) may buy 12.5 percent each in Reliance Industries' (RELI.BO) oil block in East Timor, the Business Line newspaper said on Monday.

The state-run firms had received approval from their boards to join Reliance's exploration programme in the Asian country as partners, the paper said, citing official sources.

"The IOC Board which met on Friday approved its participation in the project. OIL board has already given its nod," the paper quoted the sources as saying.

A spokeswoman for Indian Oil could not comment immediately, while a Reliance Industries spokesman declined comment. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by John Mair)