India identifies new site for Saudi Aramco, ADNOC refinery

The Indian state of Maharashtra has identified a new site for the planned $44 billion oil refinery that Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) are building along with national companies.

The new site in Maharashtra would be at Raigad district, about 62 miles south of the country's financial capital Mumbai, Reuters reported, citing the state’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The 1.2 million barrels per day refinery and associated petrochemical project was initially proposed to be built at Nanar, a village in Ratnagiri district, some 250 miles south of Mumbai. But opposition from the farmers prompted the Maharashtra government to relocate the site.

Read: Saudi Aramco to co-develop India’s $44 bln mega refinery

State run companies - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum - own 50 percent of the Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), the company that is building the project. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC hold the remainder.

The project is expected to be one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the world, built to meet fast-growing fuel and petrochemicals demand in India and elsewhere.