The Hindu Business Line : `India still open to Saudi participation in Vizag refinery project'

Speaking to presspersons here, the Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, said India was seeking Saudi Aramco's participation in the Visakhapatnam Refinery though Indian companies have not been shortlisted for possible participation in Aramco's Yanbu Refinery.

"We were hoping that by offering Saudi Aramco an opportunity to invest in Visakhapatnam Refinery we would get an opportunity to invest in Yanbu but we have not been shortlisted. Nonetheless our offer of collaboration in Visakhapatnam is open," he said at the sidelines of a conference to mark the signing of MoU between ONGC and Shell Exploration Company.

Expressing disappointment at the missed opportunity in Yanbu, he said that the Saudi Arabian Oil Minister, Mr Ali Al Nuaimi, had made it clear that the decision would be made purely on commercial considerations.

Mr Aiyar hoped to discuss certain bilateral issues with his Saudi counterpart, who is part of the high-level delegation that will accompany Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud on his first visit to India from January 24.

"The issue of hydrocarbon cooperation is also a component of the bilateral talks that are going be held between the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and the Saudi king," he said.

"So far as the oil component of our energy security is concerned, we have a strong assurance from Saudi Arabia that any incremental requirement will be met by them," Mr Aiyar said, adding, "The 26 per cent dependence on Saudi Arabia is the optimal level and we must also seek to diversify our oil sources."

India currently depends on imports for over 76 per cent of its 112-million-tonne requirement of crude and some petroleum products.

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