Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude oil exporter, plans to set up a refinery in India, already home to the world's largest oil refinery at Jamnagar, owned by Mukesh Ambani's RIL.While the Jamnagar plant produces 1.24 million barrels per day, Saudi Aramco's single biggest refinery, at Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia, produces less than half RIL's capacity, at 550,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Aramco however, has 13 refineries all across the world, with a capacity of nearly 5.1 million barrels per day - dwarfing RIL's capacity by more than four times. Four of those refineries are outside Saudi Arabia. The refinery in India will be the company's fifth.
Saudi Aramco, with reserves of nearly 261 billion barrels of oil, is the world's largest oil company. Its IPO, valued at $100 billion or five per cent of the company, and scheduled for later this year, is expected to value the company at $2 trillion. That will make it the world's biggest IPO and Aramco the most valued company.In contrast, RIL is scampering along to become India's first company to be worth $100 billion.
The RIL refinery was completed in 2000 while Saudi Aramco set up shop in 1933, initially as California Arabia Standard Oil Company, operated by Standard Oil. The name was changed to Aramco on January 31, 1944.In 1974, Saudi Arabia took control of the company with a 60 per cent stake.
In 2016-17, Saudi Aramco's estimated revenues from its refining and oil business were $160 billion, and it employs 65,282 people. In contrast, RIL's refining and oil marketing business earned it $19.5 billion, employing 24,167 people.