India may grant 50% stake to Saudi Aramco in refinery

India is set to grant Saudi Aramco a 50 percent stake in a planned 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) west coast refinery, Reuters reported, citing an industry source privy to the deal.

The deal is likely to be announced on Wednesday during Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih's visit to New Delhi to attend the International Energy Forum, the news agency said.

"There are some last-minute negotiations on small issues, but both countries are almost ready to announce a deal today," the source added.

Representatives of Aramco held a meeting with their counterparts from Indian companies on Tuesday.

Indian companies - Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum - have floated a joint-venture Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals (RRPL), to build the proposed refinery in the western state of Maharashtra.

India has outlined plans to expand its refining capacity by 77 percent to about 8.8 million barrels per day by 2030.

In February, Al-Falih said that the Kingdom would sign oil supply deals as part of the agreement to buy stakes in Indian refineries.