Mumbai: Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market value, will invest about $24 billion in petrochemical projects in West Asian Gulf countries in the next 10 years, Mukesh D Ambani, company's chairman and managing director, has said.

Ambani said Reliance is changing several of its strategies. "The first is from an organic growth model to a mix of organic and aggressive acquisitions-led mode of growth," he told a petrochemical conference in Dubai.

Reliance, he said, will also reposition its global operation to Dubai by strengthening its office there. "Dubai will be the gateway for our future in this part of the world and beyond," he told Gulf News in an interview.

Reliance, a refiner and petrochemical maker, wants to tap growing demand for chemicals in Asia, especially China and India, Ambani said.

Chemical projects are getting larger as the cost of feedstock – mainly oil –  rises, forcing chemical firms to increase scale of operation to between $4 billion and $5 billion and also integrate with oil refineries, he said.

"Energy and feedstock costs for our industry will continue to move in an upwards direction," Ambani said.

"We plan to set up a number of petrochemical plants in the next decade, with each costing $4 billion to $6 billion," Ambani said, adding, four such refineries or petrochemical plants could require investment to the tune of $20-24 billion.

"We have major commitments to the region, which is the hub of the oil and gas sector. We import $30 billion to $40 billion worth of oil, including the bulk from the Gulf, refine it and export gasoline worth $80 billion to Europe and the US," Ambani was quoted as saying.

Ambani, who is visiting to Dubai to explore business opportunities, met UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

With 1.3 million barrels per day in refining capacity, Reliance has become a major player in the global petrochemical trade.

The Gulf could help the company save costs on transportation and logistics, and in turn help the GCC countries, which are suffering an acute shortage of refining capacity, Ambani said.