NEW DELHI: Saudi Aramco on Monday said it will continue to evaluate new and existing business opportunities with its potential partners in India, days after Reliance Industry Ltd. scrapped its plan to sell 20% stake in its oil-to-chemicals unit to the Saudi Arabian oil company.
The company also called India a place of tremendous growth opportunities over the long term. “India offers tremendous growth opportunities over the long term,” said Aramco in a statement. “It will continue to evaluate new and existing business opportunities with our potential partner.”
In August 2019, Reliance and Saudi Aramco signed a non-binding letter of intent in August 2019 for a potential 20% stake in Reliance’s oil-to-chemicals unit. The deal was valued at about $15 billion, and it was called the biggest foreign investment in Reliance history. The company had announced the deal would close by March 2020. However, the deadline was missed and Reliance blamed pandemic controlling restrictions.
Last week, RIL in an official statement said both had mutually decided to re-evaluate the proposed $15 billion Investment by Aramco in the oil-to-chemical (O2C) business. The reason to cancel the deal was Reliance’s foray into the energy sector. It has recently unveiled its plans for the New Energy & Materials businesses by announcing the development of Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex at Jamnagar, which accounts for a major part of the O2C assets. It will be amongst the largest integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world.