Due diligence by Aramco on track for planned stake sale: RIL

Reliance Industries, which is trying to sell 20 per cent stake in the company to Saudi oil giant Aramco, on Thursday said that the due diligence for the deal was on track.

“In spite of the Covid-19 crisis and the lockdowns, the due-diligence by Saudi Aramco for the planned investment in the oil to consumer business is on track as both the parties are committed and actively engaged,” the company said in a statement.

During the announcement of the deal in August 2019, Reliance Industries had said Aramco will invest $15 billion (Rs 1.14 lakh crore).


Earlier, both companies had set March 2020 as the deadline for the deal. The deal was aimed at cutting its massive debt and securing an assured supply of crude oil to its refineries.

Meanwhile, in December last year, the government requested a court to restrain the deal to help ensure the Mumbai-based company has enough assets to pay arbitration claims in an unrelated case.

Government has a dispute with Panna, Mukta and Tapti oilfield contractors Shell and RIL (which holds 30 per cent). The government accused them of wrongly accounting for costs and profits in the fields, which reduces the state’s share of income.