Saudi Aramco is set to acquire a 20% stake in a new refinery that India’s state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) plans to build, according to Business Standard. The total investment for the project is estimated at around $11 billion.
The refinery is planned at Ramayapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh, on India’s east coast, and will have a processing capacity of 180,000 to 240,000 barrels per day (bpd). BPCL, India’s second-largest state refiner with 706,000 bpd of crude processing capacity, aims to sell a 30–40% equity stake to outside investors. Of this, Saudi Aramco is expected to take 20%, Oil India Ltd (OIL) nearly 10%, and banks 4–5%, according to a senior BPCL official.
Earlier this year, BPCL secured 6,000 acres of land for the refinery and petrochemicals project from the Andhra Pradesh government. The project, costing roughly $11 billion (967 billion Indian rupees), is expected to start commercial operations by January 2029.
BPCL currently operates three refineries in India and, along with other Indian refiners, is looking to expand crude processing and petrochemical capacity to meet rising domestic demand. India has now overtaken China as the biggest driver of global crude demand growth.
For Saudi Aramco, the investment helps secure future term sales of crude in top Asian markets, which are expected to continue driving demand growth. Sources indicate that Aramco has also been in discussions to invest in two other planned refineries in India.
In addition to the BPCL project, Saudi Aramco is reportedly in talks with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) regarding a proposed refinery in Gujarat, on India’s west coast. These moves reflect Aramco’s strategy to expand its footprint in India’s rapidly growing energy market.
