Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

Speaking to reporters after the MoU was signed, Aramco CEO, Amin H Nasser said, “Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will together hold 50 per cent stake. The terms are being discussed.”

In a tweet later, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said, “State owned refiners IOCL, HPCL & BPCL will have 50 per cent stake in the Ratnagiri Refinery. Aramco & ADNOC will have 25 per cent stake each.

It is unclear if there will be a financial investment by either Saudi Aramco or ADNOC in the project. Industry watchers are expecting a crude supply assurance from both Aramco and ADNOC to meet the requirements of the 1.2 million per day (60 million metric tonnes per annum).

This refinery will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex, which will have the capacity of producing approx. 18 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.

When asked, Pradhan said, “The total investment for the project is $ 44 billion. This is a joint venture by three Indian Companies - IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, and another joint venture between Aramco and ADNOC. Both are partners in the Ratnagiri refinery.”

Saudi Aramco had joined the project by signing an MoU with the Indian consortium on April 11, this year on the sidelines of the16th International Energy Forum Ministerial. Saudi Aramco had also sought to include another strategic partner to co-invest in the project as an overseas investor.

An official statement said, “This will be single largest overseas investment in the Indian refining sector. The strategic partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of these multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world.”

Related Topics