Petronas eyes more India growth

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) looks to capture growth in the Indian market, particularly the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and lubricants segments.
President and group CEO, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, who is on Petronas’ annual official visit to meet India’s industry leaders and partners, said the group’s priority would be the expansion of its LNG supply in India to help meet the rising demand from the power, agriculture and transport sectors.
“Petronas aims to continue to be part of India’s exciting journey and support its sustainable growth ambitions and commitments through further collaborations with our existing partners as well as through new strategic-fit opportunities,” he said in a statement yesterday.
With an over 30 million-tonnes-per-year supply capacity, Petronas is the third largest LNG player globally, with hopes to further contribute to the energy needs of India, which is the fourth largest LNG market in the world. To date, Petronas has delivered 15 LNG cargoes to India.
In a bid to strengthen the presence in the Indian lubricants business, Petronas noted that its subsidiary Petronas Lubricants International (PLI) is investing US$150 million (RM643 million) over the next five years, including the construction of a US$50 million lubricant blending plant with a 110 million-litre capacity in Patalganga, to be completed by the first quarter of 2018. 
The plant is set to be the most modern facility in PLI’s global production network with unique capabilities to blend the most complex fluids. It is also equipped with a technical service facility that uses the latest equipment in fluid analytics. 
Petronas also sees growth in demand for petrochemicals in India, especially with the growing affluence that will see increased demand for consumer products. In 2016, India made up over 100,000 tonnes of Petronas’ petrochemicals sales volume.