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Saudi Aramco studying offers for Indian oil refinery stakes: Pradhan

Saudi Aramco is considering proposals to buy stakes in Indian oil refining and petrochemical projects, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday, as the world’s biggest oil exporter seeks outlets for its oil. India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, imports almost 80% of its crude requirements, mostly from Middle East nations. In the first quarter, Saudi Arabia was India’s biggest exporter of oil, sending about 889,000 barrel per day (bpd) to the country, or about 21% of the total.

Pradhan earlier this month met with Saudi Aramco chairman Khalid al-Falih and sought Saudi investment in a planned 1.2 million bpd refinery on India’s west coast, the expansion of the Bina refinery and a petrochemical plant at Dahej, he said on Monday.

“All the three we have offered to Saudi. The two sides will decide on the proposals in a time bound manner,” Pradhan told Reuters, meaning there are deadlines for reaching investment decisions.

Saudi Aramco did not respond to an email from Reuters seeking comments.

Three Indian state refiners—Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd—plan to build the 1.2-million bpd refinery on the country’s west coast at a cost of more than Rs.1 trillion ($15.02 billion) to meet the country’s growing fuel demand.

Bharat Oman R