Mumbai: Oil and crude have always created a buzz in the global market. As India is one of the economies where the oil demand is constantly increasing, it attracts market for the foreign oil companies to put their money in Indian Market.
RIL (Reliance Industry Limited) has sold its 20% stake in its refining and petrochemicals business for $15 billion to Saudi Aramco on Monday, speculation has been rife if the latter would keep its commitment to the $44 billion west coast refinery and petrochemicals project being implemented in Maharashtra. The project called Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), facing land acquisition challenges, has been moved from its original site in Ratnagiri to Roha.
Senior official from oil marketing company told “Saudi Aramco has a voracious appetite for the Indian market. A 20% stake in RIL will not satisfy that. In fact, Saudi Aramco wants a bigger share of the 50% stake in the west coast refinery,”. This shows the interest and appetite Aramco has for Indian sector.
RRPCL is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), and three state-run oil marketing companies, Indian Oil Corp. (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPCL). Saudi Aramco and Adnoc will jointly own 50% of the refinery, with the remaining 50% being owned by the Indian oil companies. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 8.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.52 million ton, while diesel sales climbed 3.3%, its highest year-on-year rise since January, to 6.83 million ton.
