Cuba seeks Indian help to set up 150,000 bpd refinery

NEW DELHI, July 1 (Reuters) - Cuba has invited Indian firms to invest in a planned 150,000 barrels a day refinery in the island nation, India's oil ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

It also sought India's help in upgrading and expanding its existing refineries at a meeting in Madrid on Monday between Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora and his Cuban counterpart Yadira Garcia Vera, the statement added.

The two countries have finalised the India-Cuba Hydrocarbon Agreement for co-operation in the oil and gas sector, it added without elaborating.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO), has stakes in nine exploration blocks in Cuba, and total ownership of two. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Mark Williams)