India and Saudi Arabia plan to revive the USD 44 bn West Coast refinery project in Maharashtra

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Saudi counterpart and the chairman of Saudi Aramco, Khalid A Al-Falih, in New Delhi, it was decided that India and Saudi Arabia will revive and expedite the implementation of USD 44 billion West Coast refinery project in Maharashtra, in which Saudi
Aramco will be holding a considerable stake.

Key Points:-
i. The ministers reviewed various Saudi investment proposals in the Indian oil and gas sector, including the urgent steps to be taken to expedite the implementation of the first joint venture West Coast Refinery and Petrochemical Project in Maharashtra, estimated to cost the USD 44 billion, which will be the largest greenfield refinery in the world.
ii. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) had formed a joint venture with Indian state-run oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — to hold 50% stake in Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals (RRPCL).
iii. The progress of the project had faced issues after 42,000 notices for land survey and acquisition were served to families in 17 villages of Ratnagiri district and were put on hold by the State Government.
iv. It is still not clear whether the government may be looking for alternate location, outside Ratnagiri for the project.