India’s Reliance Industries will shut for up to four weeks a 330,000-bpd crude oil processing unit at its 660,000-bpd Jamnagar refinery, beginning in the middle of June for planned maintenance, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two industry sources with knowledge of the company’s plans.
The refinery predominantly supplies refined oil products to the domestic market.
Back in January, Reliance Industries carried out maintenance at the other crude unit at the 660,000-bpd refinery and closed it for four weeks.
Reliance’s Jamnagar site is the world’s largest refining hub, in which the refinery in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is the sixth largest in the world with a capacity to process 580,000 bpd of crude oil, according to Reliance Industries’ website.
The first refinery at the Jamnagar site was built in 1999 and has an installed capacity of 660,000 bpd, selling refined oil products on the domestic market.
The refinery at the SEZ was added in 2008 and made the Jamnagar complex the world’s largest oil processing hub. Last year, Reliance increased the capacity of its export-oriented refinery by 30 percent to 704,000 bpd.
Last month, The Times of India reported that Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco is in “serious discussions” to buy up to 25 percent of the refining and petrochemicals businesses of Reliance Industries.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been pursuing downstream deals in Asia—the most prized market for oil exporting nations, aiming to lock in future demand for Saudi crude oil. India, for its part, is a fast-growing demand center and the world’s third-largest oil consumer after the U.S. and China.
During the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India in February, Saudi Arabia announced plans to invest US$100 billion in India’s infrastructure and energy industry as it seeks to strengthen its position in the country.
Source: Oilprice.com
