Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there is a possibility of changes to plans for Indian state-controlled refiner IOC's 1.2mn b/d (60mn t/yr) West Coast refinery project being developed with two Mideast Gulf national oil companies.
Speaking to Argus in an interview in Abu Dhabi, the minister said it may be better to build three smaller plants of 20mn t/yr, and that there have been some discussions about this. The plan is being developed by IOC with Saudi state-controlled Aramco and the UAE's state-controlled Adnoc.
"The discussion in Ratnagiri was for a large refinery of 60 mn t/yr, which is huge," he said. "I think we are probably better off in terms of sure ground footing to have three refineries of 20mn t/yr each because there are local issues."
This comes after New Delhi and Riyadh agreed to accelerate project during a visit by Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman to India in September. The countries extended their full support to early implementation of the project, for which funds of $50bn has been earmarked, Indian external affairs ministry secretary Ausaf Sayeed said in a press briefing on 11 September.
Shifting political equations in the Indian state of Maharashtra, coupled with strong resistance from locals in Ratnagiri, has nearly stalled the project, which was first proposed in 2015 as a joint effort by India's public-sector refiners to build one of the world's largest refining complexes.
"Not just in India, even in the outside, I don't know if anybody has experience in producing and running a refinery of 60mn t/yr", Puri said, adding that India is keen on expanding refining capacity to 450mn t/yr from the current 252mn t/yr.
Indian refiners are to add 56mn t/yr (1.1mn b/d) of refining capacity by 2028, junior oil minister Rameswar Teli told the lower house of parliament in July.
For our full interview with Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri, please click here.
