At $44 bn foreign interest, oil could be India's next geopolitical currency

In any war-like situation with Pakistan, both Saudi and UAE will be induced to pressurise Islamabad because of their high stakes in India's oil sector

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco last week made headlines for reportedly being in discussions to pick a stake in Reliance Industries' core business. The deal, if successful, may take overall foreign interest in Indian’s oil and related assets to $44.46 billion. This includes the Rosneft investment made in 2017, a foreign participation share of proposed investment in the West Coast refinery and the speculated deal value for a stake in RIL's refining and petchem business. The invested and committed capital, in turn bring India higher geopolitical currency.

“Growing interest and investment by foreign oil companies, especially from the Middle East, helps as