- The move intends to capitalize on India’s rising energy demands by investing big on the nation’s petrochemical, refining and crude oil storage projects.
- Saudi Aramco & ADNOC have already jointly acquired a 50% stake in a $44B refinery & petrochemical complex in India.
The oil-rich Middle Eastern nation of United Arab Emirates, has reportedly claimed that the country is looking to make more investments in the petrochemical, refining and crude oil storage projects of India.
Reports cite, with the announcement and the subsequent investments, UAE is betting big on the growing energy demands of India, which is currently the third biggest energy consumer in the world.
According to a report by The Times of India, UAE’s state-owned petroleum and oil & gas firms, Saudi Aramco as well as Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) have already jointly acquired a 50% stake in India’s panned $44 billion refinery & petrochemical complex located at Ratnagiri in the state of Maharashtra. It has also hired space at the strategic underground oil storage facilities that have been constructed at Padur and Mangalore in Karnataka.
The CEO of ADNOC & Minister of State for United Arab Emirates, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber stated that the nation is looking to expand its investment portfolio across the downstream sectors, specifically in petrochemicals & oil refining and instead of just selling crude to India, UAE intends to develop a strategic partnership with the country. Al Jaber further added that not only is India a key market for UAE, but it is also an extremely crucial strategic partner.
A division of the 50% Ratnagiri project stake between the two firms has not been announced as of yet. The remaining 50% stake of the project is owned by India’s state-owned Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum as well as Bharat Petroleum.
According to reports, the UAE currently supplies India with a very small quantity of oil in comparison to India’s other suppliers, however, the nation would soon be ramping up its investments.
