India's largest private enterprise and a major commodity resin producer Reliance Industries Ltd. has lined up $10 billion to invest in Egypt, the company's largest overseas investment so far. The package will include $1billion for an oil refinery and $7 billion for petrochemicals, according to India's English newspaper The Economic Times:Reliance Industries proposes to take advantage of the heavy crude available in North Africa to process a range of oil products such as gasoline. Heavy crude is usually difficult to process and requires a highly complex refinery. But it is cheaper than normal or sweet crude by about $5-5.5 per barrel. Reliance Industries uses a lot of heavy crude in its Jamnagar refinery.
Another newspaper, The Times of India, analyzed Reliance's overseas investment deployment and strategies, highlighting the target on the European and U.S. markets:
The Egyptian government estimates Indian investments in Egypt are worth $320 million. Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance group, has been importing and marketing Egyptian crude oil since 2001. Over the last few years Reliance is trying to expand its global footprint in the oil and gas business. It already has hydrocarbon assets in Oman, Yemen and East Timor. While it has oil assets in Yemen, in east Timor and Oman the company is dealing in gas. Egypt too is becoming a big source of gas and this could have prompted Reliance to explore the option. Besides, it is strategically located with Europe and the entire African continent being a large potential market. Reliance had earlier made investment announcements in Saudi Arabia and Yemen along with other Indian oil majors but the plans did not fructify. At home it is dealing with uncertainty on pricing for its gas finds in K-G basin and has had to alter its petroleum retailing plans due to large under-recoveries. But the problems at home have not deterred it from trying to also find a way into the American continent. Company executives have talked of their intent to buy old refineries in the United States as well to get a toehold.China is a significant export market for Reliance, accounting for about 65 percent of Reliance's business in polypropylene exports.
Reliance doesn't have production facilities in China right now.