India yet to find land for $60-bn oil refinery to be built by Aramco, ADNOC: Saudi minister

Signed last year, Saudi-UAE joint project has been facing hurdles. Coastal refinery jointly owned by India's state-run oil firms likely to come up in Maharashtra.

An employee at the Juaymah tank farm at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia (Representational Image) | Bloomberg

Riyadh: India is yet to find land for a $60-billion oil refinery project which is to be jointly constructed by Saudi Aramco and UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a Saudi Arabia minister said.

The coastal refinery, jointly owned by Indian state-run oil companies, is likely to come up in Maharashtra’s Raigad.

At a press conference Thursday, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi said the commitment of $35-billion investment into the refinery “is there”.

“We are waiting for the Government of India to choose the land and we understand, and as the Prime Minister said, the new regional government has been chosen. So we expect in the very short time that the land will be decided. The ball is now in their court,” he said.

Qasabi was speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative, also known as the ‘Davos in Desert’, that concluded Thursday.

‘Takes two to tango’

Hinting at fast-tracking the oil refinery project, and Saudi Arabia’s plans to invest its promised $100 billion in India, the minister said, “Investment is never an action. It is always a reaction based on opportunities and stability.”

The west coast refinery project has been facing several hurdles ever since it was signed last year. It was originally proposed to be built at Nanar in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

But due to severe protests and backlash from local farmers and civil societies, the Maharashtra government shifted the project to Raigad earlier this year. But acquisition of land even there has turned out to be difficult.

“It takes two to tango… India is an important trading partner for KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). We could do more with India. We can leverage the expertise India has on innovation, technology, financial technology and SMEs,” Qasabi said.

A feasibility study is being undertaken on the land that the Maharashtra government plans to offer to the Saudi. A consortium of Indian state-run companies — Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum — holds 50 per cent stake in the project.

The Saudi commerce minister added that his country is also planning to increase its non-oil exports, such as agricultural goods and fertilizers, to India.