Aramco to finalize India’s Reliance Industries acquisition deal by 2021: official

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), the world’s largest oil exporter, may finalize the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in India’s Reliance Industries’ oil to chemicals business by 2021, Bloomberg has reported, citing Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Aramco’s senior vice president for downstream.

“The acquisition will likely boost the company’s gross refining capacity to more than 8 million barrels per day,” Al-Judaimi added.

Saudi Aramco is pressing ahead with plans to become the world’s biggest oil refiner and a top chemicals maker to secure future demand for its crude and bolster growth.

The state oil producer is looking to invest in projects that are already built or under construction in markets with the fastest-growing demand such as India and China, Al-Judaimi noted.

“We have massive reserves” of oil, Al-Judaimi told reporters during a presentation at the company’s headquarters in Dhahran. “Our first objective is to monetize those reserves.”

In August, Saudi Aramco said it agreed to acquire a 20 percent stake in Reliance Industries' refining and petrochemicals business, valued at $75 billion.

The $15 billion deal between the world's largest oil producer and Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man as well as Reliance's chairman and largest shareholder, gives it a stake in the Jamnagar Refinery in India, which can process an unmatched 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to earlier news reports.