BP sees growing opportunities in India: CEO Murray Auchincloss

New Delhi: Energy firm BP sees "growing business opportunities" in India, its global chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in a statement on Wednesday. The board of London-headquartered BP is holding a meeting in India this week, said a company statement.

This is the second time BP's board is meeting in India. The first meeting was held in 2013, about two years after company took a 30% interest in Indian upstream projects managed by Reliance Industries for $7.2 billion.

"We see growing business opportunities, including through our world-class partnership with Reliance, producing the country's gas and growing our joint retail presence. In turn, India's highly skilled engineering and scientific talent can help us deliver our targets more effectively, efficiently and rapidly," Auchincloss said.


He along with other board members met petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Puri on Tuesday.

BP, in alliance with RIL, is engaged in natural gas production and fuel retailing in India. BP and RIL partnered with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to bid for a western offshore block in the just-concluded exploration licensing round.

ONGC is also seeking to partner with a global oil firm to help boost output from its flagship Mumbai High field which has producing for about half a century.

India is seeking to attract international firms to its exploration sector as they have access to big capital and advanced technologies which could come in handy to boost domestic output that's been falling for years. India's crude output has fallen by a fifth in the past decade.