Taking another step towards making the proposal for a mega refinery in the country’s west coast a reality, an Indian consortium consisting of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation signed an MoU with Saudi Aramco here on the sidelines of the16 International Energy Forum Ministerial.

Speaking to mediapersons after signing of the MoU to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex, Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, in Maharashtra, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, said, “The project cost is estimated at around ₹3 lakh crore ($44 billion). The refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day (60 million tonnes per annum).”

The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership (50:50) between the consortium from India and Saudi Aramco, Pradhan said. The plan is to finish the project by 2025.

Khalid Al Falih, Minister for Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, who was present on the occasion, said: “Saudi Aramco may include a strategic partner to co-invest in the project”.

Elaborating on the refinery project, he said, the partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world.

A pre-feasibility study for the refinery has been completed, and the parties are now finalising the project’s overall configuration including the formation of a joint venture that would provide for joint ownership, control and management of the project.

In addition to the refinery, cracker and downstream petrochemicals facilities, the project will also include the development of associated facilities such as a logistics, crude oil and product storage terminals, raw water supply project and centralised and shared utilities.

Amin H. Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO, said participating in the mega project will allow the Saudi Arabian oil company to go beyond the role of crude oil supplier to a fully integrated position which supports India’s future energy demands.

It will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including petrol and diesel meeting BS-VI fuel efficiency norms. The refinery will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex, which will be capable of producing approximately 18 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.