Aramco deal more to secure crude supply than deleveraging: RIL officials

The 20-per cent stake sale in Reliance Industries’ oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco is a strategic deal driven partly to secure long-term crude supply, senior company officials explained Monday.

The deal, which is expected to be completed during this financial year, is not driven by the company’s move to deleverage debt of over Rs 1.54 trillion, they clarified even as chairman Mukesh Ambani told the shareholders that RIL will be debt-free over the next 18 months.

Earlier in the day, Ambani told the AGM that the Saudi oil giant Aramco will pick up 20 per cent in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business for over $15 billion, valuing RIL at $75 billion, making this one of the largest foreign investments into the country to date.