Saudi Aramco to keep 4.6 mn barrels of oil in Indian storage: Govt

NEW DELHI:INDIA will lease a quarter of its strategic petroleum reserve in Padur to Saudi Aramco to store about 4.6 million barrels of oil, a government official said on Wednesday, as New Delhi seeks global investment in its expanding energy infrastructure. Global oil producers are eager to gain a foothold in India, where fuel demand is expected to keep rising as the country's economy grows.

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, a government company charged with building oil storage, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi state firm for its participation in the 2.5-milliontonne facility in Karnataka state.

“Aramco has signed an MOU for only one compartment,” said HPS Ahuja, chief executive of the Indian company.

The Padur storage facility has four equal-sized compartments.

So far, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is the only foreign company storing oil in India's strategic reserves, at Mangalore, also in Karnataka. Last year it signed a preliminary agreement to use half of the Padur reserve. Ahuja said Aramco would have to keep some of the 4.6 mil

lion barrels for India's strategic needs, but could sell the rest to Indian refiners.

India, which relies on imports for about 80 per cent of its oil needs, has underground emergency storage in three locations to protect against any supply disruption. The reserves can hold 36.87 million barrels.

The much awaited initial public offering (IPO) of the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco will come “soon” and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will decide its stock market debut, the Gulf Kingdom's energy minister said here on Wednesday. Aramco, which pumps about 10 per cent of the world's crude oil, emerged as the world's most profitable company in 2018.