India, Kuwait to boost oil sector cooperation
11 Mar 2013
India and Kuwait today decided to expedite cooperation in the oil and gas sector by promoting joint venture projects, both in the upstream and downstream areas.
The decision was made at a meeting of India's petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily and his Kuwaiti (minister of amiri diwan affairs) Sheikh Nasser Sabah AL-Ahmed AK-Jaber AL-Sabah.
Moily said the two sides should give a new momentum to the warm and friendly, long-standing bilateral relations.
''We should move fast beyond discussions and finalise the projects for cooperation in the oil and gas sector,'' he said.
Moily invited Kuwaiti companies to invest in petro-chemical projects, refinery projects, and upstream-exploration and production ventures in India. The minister cited examples of up-coming petro-chemical projects at Dahej, Mangalore and Paradeep, which offer possibilities for Kuwaiti companies to pick up stakes for mutually beneficial cooperation.
Similarly, he said Indian companies are keen to participate and invest in various exploration and production (E&P) projects in the refinery or petro-chemical sectors in Kuwait. The minister also proposed participation of EIL in the development of Kuwait's oil industry projects.