India’s oil minister Murli Deora recently announced that ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd is looking to build a 180,000bpd refinery in Nigeria. OMEL, a joint venture of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and the Mittal Group, operates two deepwater exploration blocks, OPL-279 and OPL-285, in Nigeria, Deora told lawmakers in a written reply.

OMEL's steering committee, which helps identify economically viable projects in the African nation, in January approved setting up a 180,000bpd refinery to export petroleum products using Nigerian crude as a feed stock, he said. On 22 July the steering committee approved a plan to carry out a detailed feasibility study on the project, he added.