India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to accelerate Indian state-controlled refiner IOC's 1.2mn b/d West Coast Refinery project, according to Argus media.

• IOC's plans for a 1.2mn b/d refinery at Ratnagiri in west India's Maharashtra state have been complicated by land acquisition problems.
• However, India and Saudi Arabia will form a joint task force to and a monitoring committee to ensure progress on the refinery project, ministry of external affairs secretary Ausaf Sayeed said.
• The West Coast refinery project is set for a production capacity of around 1.2m b/d, about 60m mtpa and is touted to become the largest integrated refinery and petrochemical facility in the world.
• Even if finally approved, the refinery is not expected to come online in its forecast period (2022-2028), according to the IEA in a June report.