Kuwait Petroleum eyes stake in Bina refinery

Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) is looking to buy a 24 per cent stake in the Bina joint venture refinery.

“Talks are at a preliminary stage,” said sources.

The 120,000-bpd Bina plant is operated by Bharat Oman Refineries (BORL), a 50-50 joint venture between Oman Oil Company and state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation. Kuwait Petroleum International CEO Nabil Bourisli said in April his company intends to sign a deal soon to buy a stake in an Indian refinery and petrochemical project and supply as much as 200,000 bpd of oil.

For Bina, the plan would be for BPCL to retain half of the refinery, while KPI and Oman Oil would share the remaining 50 per cent stake, according to sources.

India plans to raise its refining capacity by 77 per cent to about 8.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030 to meet rising fuel demand.

BPCL has funded an expansion of the Bina refinery to 156,000 bpd that is to be completed later this year. Oman Oil did not invest in the upgrade. BPCL has an option to convert its additional spending into equity that would raise its overall share in BORL to 74 percent.

Saudi Aramco last month signed a deal to buy a 50 per cent stake in the $44-billion planned project in Maharashtra, with an option to share a part of its equity with a new foreign partner.