Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, is in talks with Reliance Industries and other Indian companies for investing in petrochemicals and refinery projects in the country. The Saudi national oil company, which along with its partner UAE’s Adnoc has taken a 50 per cent stake in a planned $ 44-billion mega refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Maharashtra by state-owned oil companies, has bullish outlook on India’s energy demand; and is keen on investing here. Reliance plans to expand its only-for-exports special economic zone (SEZ) refining capacity to just over 41 million tonnes from current 35.2 million tonnes but does not have any plans to set up a new refinery in the country. It is presently focused on expanding petrochemical and telecom business as per reports. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is keen to get a foothold in the world’s fastest-growing fuel market to get a captive customer for the crude oil it produces. A refinery in India can also be a base for it to export fuel to deficit countries in Europe and the Americas. India has a refining capacity of 247.6 million tonnes, which exceeded the demand of 206.2 million tonnes.