UAE, Saudi Arabia Eye Refinery Investments in India Amid Capacity Expansion

India's oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri has announced that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are interested in investing in India's refining sector. The move is part of India's plan to increase its refining capacity to 6.2-6.4 million barrels per day from the current approximately 5.4 million bpd through construction of new plants and upgrades to existing facilities.

Puri noted that building a refinery requires substantial capital, approximately 780 billion to 800 billion rupees ($8.13-$8.34 billion). He added that 'nobody wants to come and invest in a refinery unless they can also get a slice of your growing downstream market.'