India and Saudi Arabia to expedite $50-billion west coast refinery project

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

India and Saudi Arabia will set up a joint task force to explore early implementation of the west coast refinery project for which the Arabian nation will invest $50 billion. A monitoring committee will also be created to ensure that the progress is as per plans.

India- Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council:

India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council was formed to coordinate on strategically important issues. The council will be headed by the Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed and will meet every two years.
India is the fourth country with which Saudi Arabia has formed such a strategic partnership, after the UK, France and China.
Recent outcome: Agreement to diversify their hydrocarbons relationship into a comprehensive energy partnership.

West Coast Refinery Projects:

The west coast refinery project is a trilateral partnership between Saudi oil giant Aramco and Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
India is setting up the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals (RRPCL) project, which is a joint venture company formed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL).

Refineries in India:

Assam: Numaligarh refinery, Bongaigaon refinery, Guwahati refinery, Digboi refinery
Gujrat: Jamnagar refinery, Vadinar refinery, Gujarat refinery (vadodara),
Uttar Pradesh: Mathura refinery
Haryana: Panipat refinery
Punjab: Guru Gobind Singh refinery
Madhya Pradesh: Bina refinery
Bihar: Barauni refinery
Maharashtra: Mumbai refinery
Odisha: Paradip refinery
West Bengal: Haldia refinery
Tamil Nadu: Manali refinery (Chennai), Nagapattnam Refinery
Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam refinery, Tatipaka Refinery
Kerala: Kochi refinery
Karnataka: Mangalore refinery