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Saudi Aramco and Indian businesses are discussing investments

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Large Corporate 07 Feb 2024 12:01 PM IST Economic Times

Saudi Aramco is in investment conversations with Indian enterprises, according to a senior executive. "Hopefully we will see some announcements soon on investment in Indian companies," Faisal Faqeer, senior vice-president, liquids to chemicals development, downstream, at Saudi Aramco, told delegates at the India Energy Week in Goa, without elaborating on its plans.

The world's largest crude oil exporter and OPEC kingpin has increased its investments in Asian refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets for its crude, with chemical growth essential to its downstream expansion strategy.

In 2018, Saudi Aramco and Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) joined a consortium of Indian state-run firms to set up a 1.2 million barrels-per-day (bpd) coastal refinery and petrochemical plant in western Maharashtra but the project has faced land acquisition challenges. Saudi Arabia is pumping around 9 million bpd, well below its roughly 12 million bpd existing capacity after it cut production as part of an agreement with OPEC and its allies last year.

Reuters reported last year that India, the world's third-largest oil importer, and consumer, had wanted Saudi Arabia's Aramco to participate in its planned strategic petroleum reserve(SPR) programme to strengthen ties with its key oil supplier.