India invited Saudi Arabia to invest in its strategic oil storage even as it looks to resurrect a $44 billion (Rs. 3.08 lakh crore) refinery project with the world’s largest oil producer after the Maharashtra government denied land at the initial site.

Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al Falih, on his second visit to India in three weeks, discussed with his Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan the 60-million-tonne (MT)-a-year mega oil refinery-cum-petrochemical complex.

Review proposals

“The [two] Ministers reviewed various Saudi investment proposals in the Indian oil and gas sector, including the urgent steps to be taken to expedite the implementation of the first joint venture West Coast Refinery and Petrochemical Project in Maharashtra, estimated to cost $44 billion, which will be the largest greenfield refinery in the world,” an Oil Ministry statement said on Sunday.

The statement said: “Saudi Arabia’s participation in Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme was also discussed.”

India has built 5.33 MT of emergency storage, enough to meet its oil needs for 9.5 days, in underground rock caverns in Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Already a user? Sign In

To know more about Ad free news reading experience and subscription Click Here

or Please remove the Ad Blocker