India and Saudi Arabia on 29 October 2014 agreed to cooperate in different areas of hydrocarbon sector. The areas include strategic reserves, petrochemical conservation, research and development, refineries and energy efficiency programmes. Saudi Arabia has assured India of all cooperation on trade and investment in hydrocarbon sector.
The agreement was reached in bilateral energy consultations held in Riyadh between India and Saudi Arabia. Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Niami represented the two countries in the consultations.
Indian delegation that visited Riyadh for bilateral consultations comprised of Dharmendra Pradhan (as head), senior government officials and Chairmen of IOCL, HPCL and GAIL.
After the consultations, India invited Saudi companies including ARAMCO to participate and invest in crude oil storage facilities and down-stream industries in India.
Saudi Arabia figures prominently in India’s energy security as it imports over 20 percent of its crude oil requirement from it. It is India’s largest supplier of LPG (Butane and Propane). At present, Saudi Arabia is 4th largest trade partner of India. The bilateral trade between the two countries has seen a steady growth during 2013-14 (48.75 billion US dollar). In the current financial year 2014-15, the bilateral trade has already reached 20.27 billion US dollar (April – August 2014).
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