Saudi Aramco considering buying stake in existing indian refineries

NEW DELHI: World's largest oil company Saudi Aramco is looking to buy a stake in existing Indian refineries and expansion projects as well as the planned giant refinery on the west coast, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said today. 

The company has signed an agreement to initiate talks for a possible stake in the proposed Rs 1.8 lakh crore refinery in Maharashtra, he told reporters here. 

"Agreements have been already signed that allows discussions to start on the configuration of the (60 million tonnes a year) refinery, on design basis and pre-feasibility studies," he said, adding during his two-day visit discussions were held about the commitment of Aramco to west coast



refinery. 

"Aramco is also looking at other opportunities to buy into existing refineries in India as well as upgrades of existing refineries. So, there are at least three different tracks which I cannot reveal more specifics. One is the greenfield west coast refinery, which is already public, but there are discussions with expansions as well as buying stake into major existing refinery assets," he said. 

Yesterday Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had stated that the west coast refinery and the planned Rs 33,000 crore petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh figured during his discussions with the visiting Saudi minister. 

Saudi Arabia is India's second biggest oil supplier after Iraq, meeting a little less than a fifth of its needs.