Minister: UAE & KSA Eyeing Investment in India’s Refining Sector

India's oil minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Thursday the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are interested in investing in India's refining sector. "Nobody wants to come and invest in a refinery unless they can also get a slice of your growing downstream market," Puri said at an event.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, aims to expand its refining capacity to 6.2 to 6.4 million barrels per day from the current about 5.4 million bpd by building new plants and upgrading the existing units, he said. Puri said the cost of building a refinery was huge, about 780 billion (US$8.13 billion) to 800 billion rupees (US$8.34 billion). "So yeah, they're very keen on these investments", he added.