Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), October 29
India and Saudi Arabia have decided to change the ‘energy relationship’ into a new ‘strategic relationship’ to include Saudi partnership in building additional crude oil storage reserves in India, a new refinery on the west coast of India and investment in retail sector in petroleum.
India imports around 18 per cent of its crude oil from the Kingdom, of Saudi Arabia making it the second-largest source of crude oil.
TS Tirumurti, Secretary Economic Relations (MER), told the media: “We have discussed maritime and energy security cooperation and to transform energy relationship into a strategic partnership and move ahead from the existing buyer- seller relations.”
Notably, the two sides are looking to have Saudi Arabia participate in making an additional 2.5 million tonme oil storage facility at Padur in Karnataka. India already has storage of some 5 million tonnes at two locations, each on the west coast and west coast.
On the new refinery along the west coast of India a study has been ordered to confirm parameters of the project. There is determination to take it forward and we are confident that this would be taken forward, Tirumurti said.
Saudi Aramco and UAE’s ADNOC are jointly participating in the development of US $ 44 billion ‘West Coast Refinery & Petrochemicals Project Limited’ in Raigad, Maharashtra. Two sites are being looked at.
Saudi Petrochemical Giant SABIC had set up its R&D Centre in Bangalore with an investment of over USD 100 million in November 2013. Saudi Aramco signed a MoU with the Mumabi based GumPro for setting up a drilling fluids facility in 2018. Reliance announced that Saudi Aramco would take over 20% share (US $10- 15 billion) in the RIL Oil and Chemical business at an enterprise value of US $75 billion. Saudi Company Al-Fanar is currently executing a 300 MW power project in Kutcch.
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