Amid talks with Reliance, Saudi Aramco says focusing investments in high-growth Indian market

The world’s biggest oil exporter Saudi Aramco has said it is focusing its downstream investments in high-growth nations such as India as it negotiates a deal to buy up to 20 per cent stake in Reliance Industries’ USD 75 billion oil-to-chemical business. In its latest annual report, Aramco said it is looking at investment opportunities in high-growth markets as well as nations that rely on importing crude oil. India is the world’s fastest-growing energy market with fuel consumption rising at 4-5 per cent annually. It also relies on imports to meet its 83 per cent of oil needs. Saudi Arabia is its second-biggest oil supplier, exporting close to a fifth of India’s oil sourced from abroad.

“Saudi Aramco is focusing its downstream investments in areas of high growth, including China, India and Southeast Asia, material demand centers such as the United States, and countries that rely on importing crude oil, such as Japan and South Korea,” the firm said in its