Comments
Global oil majors including Saudi Aramco and Total are keen to enter the retail fuel market in India, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.
India could be a lucrative prize for the world's oil majors as they seek outlets for their gasoline and diesel. India posted the fastest oil demand growth in the world in the first quarter of 2016 and is replacing China as the driver of growth globally, the International Energy Agency said in its latest report.
“Saudi Aramco is eager to enter the Indian market, we are finding ways to help them,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in Hindi in a live telecast on a government web site.
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, recently offered Saudi Aramco a stake in refineries and petrochemical projects.
Saudi Aramco wants to expand globally and is looking at potential joint ventures in several countries, including Indonesia, India, the United States, Vietnam and China, chief executive Amin Nasser told Reuters in an interview in May.
Plans to expand
Fuel marketing in India has turned profitable after the government ended decades-old control over retail prices.
Pradhan said local private oil refiners Reliance Industries and Essar Oil have started opening their mothballed fuel outlets and are adding new ones to expand business.
French major Total and European major Royal Dutch Shell that have a limited presence in India are also keen to strengthen their presence, Pradhan said.
“Shell officials recently met me and informed about their plan to expand the retail network in a big way in south India,” he said.
The ministry has agreed to grant a licence to BP to market jet fuel in India. “There is a possibility they (BP) may expand into the Indian retail sector,” he said in Hindi.
Essar Oil is still working to complete a deal to sell a 49 per cent stake in its 400,000 barrel per day Vadinar refinery in Gujarat to Russian giant Rosneft.
“Rosneft, rich with oil and gas, wants to join Indian markets,” Pradhan said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.