India, Saudi Arabia to Enhance Cooperation in Oil, Gas Sector

India and Saudi Arabia have discussed ways to enhance cooperation in oil, natural gas and petrochemical sectors.

The discussion was held in Riyadh on Thursday during Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s one-day visit to Saudi capital. Pradhan met with Saudi vice minister for oil Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Indian government said in a statement Friday. He also met with Aramco chairman Khalid Al Falih.

Pradhan’s visit came close on heels of the successful visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. During Modi’s visit, ways to enhancing cooperation in oil and gas sector was one of the key issues discussed with the Saudi leadership.

Pradhan’s visit was a follow up to take forward the discussions regarding various investment proposals in areas like oil, gas, petrochemicals, exploration and production, etc. He shared details of various investment opportunities in India in downstream and upstream sectors. He also elaborated on the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) and Discovered Small Fields policy and invited the Saudi side to invest in Indian upstream sector.

The Saudi side also provided details of investment opportunities for Indian companies in their country. Both sides agreed to conclude discussions regarding concrete investment proposals in a time-bound manner.

Saudi Arabia has been the largest supplier of crude oil to India. Saudi Arabia supplied about 40 MMT of crude to India during 2015-16, accounting for about 20% of total crude imports. India also imported about 3 MMT of LPG which is around 28 percent of total LPG imports.