Saudi Aramco puts India in sights

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant has “mega investment” plans for the world’s fastest growing oil market, according to Saudi Arabian Oil Company CEO Amin Nasser.

The company, popularly known as Saudi Aramco, planned to create a fully integrated business in India and was interested in teaming up with Indian companies including in a planned large refinery project on India’s west coast, he said.

“India has all the signs of a prosperous economy that is on the move. This is a market of investment priority and not a choice anymore,” Nasser said at the Indian Energy Forum by CERAWeek on Monday. “We have a number of partners with whom we are going to have serious discussions,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been edged out as the top oil supplier to India amid an intensifying race among producers to retain their mostprized markets. India, which imports about 80% of its crude requirement, has been diversifying its sources of oil supply and is seeking more favourable terms from producers in the Middle East. The country received its first oil cargo from the US in October.

Saudi Aramco held talks with India’s state-owned oil companies led by Indian Oil Corporation to discuss participation in the 60-million tonne a year refinery being set up in the state of Maharashtra on India’s west coast, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the same event.

The oil industry is pinning its hopes on India and China, as demand elsewhere remains weak, while production stays high, keeping prices low. India’s oil demand is forecast to grow 275,000 barrels a day in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency.