The company recently set up trading desks in Singapore and London. “We’ve always said that we want to be near the market. That’s why we have made our presence in Europe and the Far East. We were in Dubai and now we are in Singapore and London also. Soon we will have one in the US,” the head of its petroleum division, P.M.S. Prasad, told reporters.

The company has sought to strengthen trading operations and secure storage facilities worldwide as it prepares to commission its new 580,000 barrel per day refinery in Jamnagar in western India, which will be geared entirely to the export market. “We will set it up by next year in Houston… we are looking for the right talent,” Prasad said. He said the firm’s existing refinery and the new plant were export focused and would have huge volumes to market.

Reliance is expected within weeks to begin pumping crude through the new refinery, which together with its existing 660,000 bpd plant on India’s west coast, built less than a decade ago, will be world’s biggest refining complex. The new plant is expected to reach full operations by early next year, industry sources say. It recently announced hiring former Shell executives to head the trading arms in London and Singapore. (Reuters)