Saudi Aramco pitches for oil supply to India
By Our Corporate Bureau | 17 Jan 2005
New Delhi: Saudi Aramco, the company that holds a quarter of the oil reserves in the world and accounts for twelve per cent of global production, has made a strong pitch to be a crude oil supplier of choice to India.
Speaking at Petrotech 2005, the sixth international petroleum conference, Abdallah S Jum'ah, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, said: "There are three factors that make Saudi Aramco the supplier of choice for the Indian market. First, our responsible long-term approach to managing our unmatched reserve base; second, the reliability of our petroleum production and distribution infrastructure; and finally, our commitment to mutually beneficial partnerships."
At the moment, Aramco supplies over 4,50,000 barrels per day of crude oil to India accounting for about a quarter of the country's imports. India's demand for oil is expected to double from present levels by the year 2030 and about 94 per cent of the demand will then be met by imports.
"Saudi Aramco stands ready and willing to provide that energy, reliably and responsibly, just as we have delivered petroleum to global markets for nearly 70 years," said Jum'ah, adding, "I consider ourselves as the backyard storage of India."
Aramco said it is keen to invest in the Indian oil refining and marketing sector. The company has invited Indian companies to participate in the 4,00,000-barrels per day export refinery it plans to set up in Saudi Arabia. Aramco sits on 260 billion barrels of crude reserves (present global demand is approximately 80 million barrels per day) and is "working hard" to add newer ones.
Jum'ah said that he expected to add another 200 billion barrels to the existing reserves. Interestingly, more than half of Saudi Arabia's potential hydrocarbon bearing areas are still unexplored, according to him.
