Saudi Aramco said to eye majority stake in Indian refinery

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, is in talks with Indian oil firms to gain a majority stake in a proposed $40 billion refinery-cum-petrochemical complex on the Indian west coast, Economic Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Aramco is engaged in  negotiations with Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum over its participation in the refinery, which will be built in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra with a capacity of 60 million tons a year.

Talks have been going on for several months, it was reported.

“They have just drawn the starting line. Only after the negotiations have concluded, you would know what Aramco has finally got,” said a person familiar with the negotiations.

“We are looking at various opportunities in India which includes refining. We are in discussions with Indian counterparties in these potential ventures and hope to progress our cooperation and partnership further," Aramco said in a statement to the newspaper.