India seeks to simplify tax rules
new delhi — India wants to attract foreign investors to $300 billion worth of energy projects planned for the next decade, its oil minister said, as the world’s third biggest oil consumer aims to cut imports.
India ships in about 80 per cent of its oil needs, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to reduce to 67 per cent by 2020. The planned projects will include increasing the country’s refining capacity, oil and gas block exploration and developing gas infrastructure, including for transporting LNG and regasification.
“In the next 10 years, India will offer projects worth $300 billion” to foreign companies keen to invest in the country, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told an energy conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
India’s oil and gas output has been stagnant for years while its fuel demand has risen with economic expansion, hitting federal finances with an import bill worth billions of dollars.
Modi’s government has been taking steps to unlock the country’s vast energy reserves and boost foreign investment in the sector and has relaxed rules, including on pricing and marketing.
Encouraged by the reforms, BP and Reliance Industries this month announced a plan to invest $6 billion to revive a deepwater gas field off the country’s east coast.
Aramco plans
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant has “mega investment” plans for the world’s fastest growing oil market.
Saudi Arabian Oil Company aims to create a fully integrated business in India and is interested in partnering on a planned refinery project on the country’s west coast, CEO Amin Nasser said in New Delhi. Investing in the plant, which is slated to be among the world’s largest, follows efforts by the producer known as Saudi Aramco to bulk up on refining assets ahead of what could be the biggest-ever initial public offering.
“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.