RIL in talks to cooperate in downstream oil sector in Russia

Reliance Industries (RIL) is reported to be in talks with Russian government officials to enter the country's downstream oil sector by investing in refinery and petrochemicals. While Russian authorities are on a nationalisation drive in the upstream sector, its refining sector lags behind, requiring huge investments. RIL is concentrating on the downstream segment in Russia, as it offers huge opportunities concurrent with Russia's process of increasing government control over its oil and gas assets. Several major global energy players like Shell and Exxon Mobil have been forced, on the pretext of regulatory issues, to divest their stakes and take on Russian state oil firms like Gazprom as strategic partners. Gazprom, the state-run Russian oil major, is believed to partner RIL`s downstream ventures in Russia. RIL is expected to push for stakes in upstream oil and gas assets in lieu of its investments in the downstream sector.