Oil-rich UAE said it is looking forward at investing more in refining and petrochemical projects as well as stocking more crude in India.

While PTI reported that betting big on increasing oil demand in the world's third largest energy consumer India, UAE is keen to invest in refining and petrochemical projects in India.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State in the United Arab Emirates and CEO of the ADNOC, said "We are interested and looking forward at expanding investment portfolio in the downstream sectors especially oil refining and petrochemicals.

UAE is looking to go beyond entirely selling crude oil to India and wants to develop and grow a strategic partnership. We are only looking at strategic partnership given that we can also bring our own crude. India is not only an important market for us. India is a very strategic partner."

UAE, he said, is looking to extend its cooperation with India and it will look at strengthening avenues of cooperation.

UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and its partner Saudi Aramco have cooperatively taken a 50 per cent stake in the planned USD 44 billion refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

It has hired space at the underground strategic oil storages built at Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka.