Was Shiv Sena's opposition to Maharashtra's Nanar project help Pakistan secure Gwadar oil refinery deal, asks BJP

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Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar Saturday wondered whether Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena was helping Pakistan by opposing the Nanar refinery project, which was "scheduled" to come up in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (undivided), the then alliance partner of the BJP, had opposed the upcoming greenfield project with a section of villagers staging protests in the coastal Ratnagiri district.

Shelar's criticism comes a day after a report claimed that four Pakistani state-owned petroleum companies have signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia to build Pakistan's largest oil refinery with an investment of USD 10 billion in Gwadar Port.

The BJP MLA wondered if Shiv Sena (UBT)'s opposition to the project has caused losses to Konkan, Maharashtra and India.

In a tweet, Shelar referred to a news report about Saudi giant Aramco investing 10 billion USD to build Pakistan's largest oil refinery in Gwadar for a Greenfield refinery.

''Were international forces who work to ensure India didn't get the project part of the Nanar protests? Did the protestors join hands with anti-national forces?'' Shelar tweeted.

He also asked if Shiv Sena (UBT) was helping Pakistan by opposing the Nanar project.

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Citing the news report, Shelar claimed Pakistan is trying to bag the greenfield refinery project which was scheduled to come up in Nanar in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

According to Dawn newspaper, the MoU to set up the facility with a production capacity of 300,000 barrels per day was signed on Thursday with Pakistan-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), and Government Holdings Private Ltd (GHPL).

The four SOEs would join the project through equity participation, it said.

Last September, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said the Centre had not taken any decision to set up an oil refinery project in any specific area in Maharashtra.

Puri was apparently referring to the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical project, proposed to be built at Nanar village in Ratnagiri district in coastal Konkan. (Agencies)