The Kingdom’s national oil company Saudi Aramco yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Senior vice president for exploration and production Abdullah Al-Saif commented that given the importance of the Republic of India, he looked forward to downstream partnerships as well as the provision of crude oil. The MoU covered such aspects as the production of cleaner fuels, improvements in the refining process, control of corrosion, and biomediation.

Attending the signing in Dhahran were Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar, who had been visiting Aramco facilities, including Shaybah, with a view to investment opportunities. In this regard, a joint technical committee is being set up, with a liaison office in the Kingdom. India currently imports from Saudi Arabia just over one quarter of its crude oil requirements.

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