RIL, IOC speak to Kuwait Petro on ‘world scale’ refinery project

Global energy conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) is in separate talks with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) for setting up a multi-billion dollar ‘world-scale’ oil refinery and petrochemical complex in India.

KPC chief executive officer (CEO) Saad A Al-Shuwaib met top officials of RIL in Mumbai on Thursday. He also held a meeting with the IOC board in New Delhi on Friday to explore the possibility of setting up a 400,000 barrels-per-day refinery and a chemical plant with an annual capacity of one million tons. The company plans to export fuels and chemicals from the proposed plants in India.

“India is a very strategic place for us. We are interested in an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex,” the KPC CEO said. KPC, which some years ago was in talks with IOC for a possible partnership in the state-run firm’s Greenfield refinery at Paradip, Orissa, is looking at new ventures and is not keen on any of the existing projects.