Saudi Aramco eyes Indian ventures

Saudi Aramco, the state oil behemoth, is currently negotiating investment opportunities with Indian firms, as stated by a top executive on Wednesday, Reuters reported.  

Faisal Faqeer, the Senior Vice President of Liquids to Chemicals Development, Downstream at Saudi Aramco, expressed optimism about forthcoming investment announcements in Indian companies during his speech at India Energy Week in Goa.

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC, leading oil exporters, are increasing Asian investments to find new crude markets, as they see chemical growth as key to their strategy.

However, their 2018 project with Indian firms for a Maharashtra refinery faces land acquisition issues.

Saudi Arabia is currently producing about 9 million barrels per day (bpd), which is significantly less than its capacity of approximately 12 million bpd.

This reduction is due to a production cut agreement with OPEC and its allies last year. 

Last year, India, being the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, expressed interest in having Saudi Aramco, a key oil supplier, participate in its upcoming Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme to reinforce their relationship.