Saudi Aramco Considers Investment in Indian Refineries

Saudi Aramco, the world's leading oil exporter, is exploring investment opportunities in two planned refineries in India. As India seeks to establish itself as a global refining hub amidst Western reductions in crude processing, Aramco's interest might serve as a stabilizing outlet for its crude in one of the fastest-growing emerging markets. The refineries are BPCL's project in Andhra Pradesh and ONGC's project in Gujarat. Aramco's proposed deal aims to supply oil up to three times its stake in each refinery but desires scalability in crude procurement. Despite past unsuccessful ventures in India, including a substantial project delay and a called-off agreement with Reliance Industries, Aramco continues to eye India's growing refinery sector. The Indian Prime Minister's planned visit to Saudi Arabia underscores the strategic significance of this prospective collaboration. Notably, India aims to set up three refineries with a capacity of 400,000 bpd each, while other aspects, such as potential investment and refinery configurations, remain unclarified.