Bharat SainiLast Updated on June 3, 2018 by Bharat Saini
Saudi Aramco and Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL) will jointly develop and build an integrated mega refinery and petrochemicals complex. on India’s west coast at Ratnagiri, in Maharashtra with estimated project cost of around $44 billion, that will rank among the largest world refining and petrochemicals projects and will be designed to meet India’s fast-growing fuels and petrochemicals demand. A memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on April 11, 2018 in New Delhi by Saudi Aramco with RRPCL – a consortium of Indian oil companies which includes The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCl), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL); during 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) in the presence of Dharmendra Pradhan India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Khalid A. Al–Falih Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia and chairman of Saudi Aramco. Saudi Aramco may also seek to include a strategic partner to co-invest in the mega refinery. This strategic partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience, and expertise of these multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world. Aramco expects the refinery to be operational before 2025.
According to India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan the pre-feasibility study of the 60 Million Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) refinery to be built at Babulwadi at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra has been completed.
- The refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil and around 18 MMTPA of petrochemicals per day.
- It will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel, meeting BS-VI fuel efficiency norms.
- The refinery will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemical complex, which will be capable of producing approximately 18 million tons per annum of petrochemical production.
- Project, in addition to the refinery, cracker and downstream petrochemical facilities, will include associated facilities such as a logistics, crude oil and product storage terminals, raw water supply, as well as centralized and shared utilities.
- 50 per cent of the crude requirement of the planned refinery project will be met by Saudi Arabia and the refinery will have the flexibility to source crude from other places.
According to Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser Aramco Asia’s New Delhi office was opened in 2017 with a mandate to expand Saudi Aramco’s international portfolio in this key economic growth region and he said, “Investing in India is a key part of our company’s global downstream strategy, and another milestone in our growing relationship with India”. “The signing marks a significant development in India’s oil and gas sector, enabling a strategic joint venture and investment partnership that will serve India’s fast-growing demand for transportation fuels and chemical products. Participating in this mega project will allow Saudi Aramco to go beyond our crude oil supplier role to a fully integrated position that may help usher in other areas of collaboration, such as refining, marketing, and petrochemicals for India’s future energy demands”.
