Mubasher: Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) is currently in negotiations to purchase 24% of the Bina joint venture refinery in central India, Reuters reported, according to two Indian and two foreign sources, as the Middle Eastern nation wants to raise its South Asian market share.
Global oil producers are in competition to gain entry into India’s expanding refining sector.
India plans to raise its refining capacity by 77% to total about 8.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030 to meet increasing demand for fuel.
“Talks with KPI are at a preliminary stage,” said one of the Indian sources, according to Reuters.
KPI is the international downstream unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
The 120,000-bpd Bina refinery is operated by Bharat Oman Refineries, a 50-50 joint venture between Oman Oil Co and state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp.
Bharat Petroleum, Oman Oil, and KPI did not respond to Reuters' e-mails seeking comment on any discussions.
“Kuwait Petroleum International Chief Executive Officer Nabil Bourisli said in April his company intends to sign a deal soon to buy a stake in an Indian refinery and petrochemical project and supply as much as 200,000 bpd of oil,” according to Reuters.
