India's first liquefied natural gas importer Petronet LNG Ltd will raise Rs 391 crore (Rs 3.91 billion) through the initial public offering of 260 million equity shares with the offer price being fixed at Rs 15 per share.

The IPO, which closed on Tuesday, was over-subscribed 4.2 times.

"About 79 per cent of the book was built at the higher end of the Rs 13-15 price band and so the book runners of the issue have decided to fix the offer price for the IPO at Rs 15," sources said.

More than 700,000 applications were received by the close of the public offer on March 9, with the retail portion of the IPO being over-subscribed 10.5 times.

When contacted Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told PTI: "It (the successful IPO) is another feature in oil sector's cap. I am indeed very happy that a start-up company has received such an overwhelming response."

"The success of the Petronet issue also inspires confidence in LNG as a fuel to meet our energy needs. It is also an indication about the country's entry into the 21^st century, of which gas will be the prime mover."

India is importing natural gas, liquefied at minus 160 degree Celcius, in ships from Middle-East as its domestic production of 65 million standard cubic metres per day was insufficient to meet the demand of 115 mmscmd.