Saudi Aramco unfazed by $44bn Maha refinery delay

NEW DELHI: Saudi Aramco is in talks with Reliance Industries for investing in petrochemicals and refinery projects in India, even as the $44 billion mega refinery project proposed to be built at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, in which the world’s largest oil exporter has a substantial stake, has tripped on a land hurdle.
“There is a lot of growth potential. We are looking at additional (besides the Ratnagiri refinery) investments in India.We are in discussions with other companies as well, including Reliance Industries,” company CEO Amin Al-Nasser, who is here as part of the delegation accompanying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told reporters on Wednesday.
Saudi Aramco, along with UAE’s ADNOC, last year agreed to take a 50% stake in the refinery and petrochemicals project, with a proposed annual capacity to refine 60 million tonne of crude, being promoted by a consortium of India’s state-run refiners led by IndianOil Corporation. Land for the project has been hard to come by due to opposition from the local population and Shiv Sena, ruling BJP’s coalition partner in the state. The state government on Monday said the project will be shifted, a move that may upset the project’s financial architecture and time line. Al-Nasser, however, said Indian partners are “assuring us that things are going very well”.
“I think if there is any delay, we can catch up. All we hear lately is that things are progressing well and we should be optimistic about it, going forward,” he said in response to a question whether the search for an alternate site may delay the project beyond the 2025 deadline. “We are not limited to that investment (Ratnagiri refinery), which is the mega refinery...we are looking at other opportunities”.