New Delhi : Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) will next week sign an initial agreement to pick up to 25 per cent stake in the planned $44-billion refinery-cum-petrochemical project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Adnoc joins Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, in the project which is planned to come on stream by 2025.
An MoU signing ceremony is planned for June 25, official sources said. Originally, Adnoc was to sign the pact when Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited UAE last month but the event got pushed back.
Saudi Aramco had in April signed an agreement to take up 50 per cent stake in the Ratnagiri refinery project. Aramco had, at the agreement signing event, stated that it will at a later date dilute some of its 50 per cent equity stake in the 60 million tonne-a-year refinery project in favour of another strategic investor.
Now, the Saudi national oil company is diluting some of that stake to Adnoc, they said, adding the Abu Dhabi company may take up to 25 per cent stake in the project.
As per the April agreement, Aramco is to supply half of the crude oil required for processing at the refinery that will be commissioned by 2025. Adnoc will now supply some of the crude to be prossed at the unit.
State-owned refiners Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) will own the remaining 50 per cent stake.