India, Russia to collaborate in oil & gas, renewable energy sectors
In a recent meeting initiated by India, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Yanovsky Anatoly and Indian ambassador Pankaj Saran discussed both parties’ intentions of developing cooperation in oil and gas as well as in the renewable energy sectors.
“During the meeting, [the sides] stressed the active development between Russia and India in the energy sector. In particular, the [parties to the meeting] framed the main directions and prospects of the cooperation and showed interest in strengthening interaction in the oil and gas sector and in the sphere of renewable energy among others,” the Russian Energy Ministry said in a statement.
At the request of Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Saran said that India appreciated Russia’s participation in the international Petrotech-2016 energy conference and in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) round table.
For its part, Russia confirmed participation in the events set to be held in India in early December with the intention of making all the necessary efforts to ensure progress in further cooperation.
Russia is an important partner for India in implementing oil and gas cooperation projects. Since 2001, India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has been involved in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia through its ONGC Videsh (OVL) subsidiary and owns a 20% stake in the project. The company is the largest Indian investor in Russia.
In May 2014, Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft and OVL signed a memorandum of understanding that stipulates cooperation on Russia’s continental Arctic shelf.
On October 28, Rosneft successfully hammered out a deal to sell 11% of its subsidiary Vankorneft’s shares to India’s OVL worth US$930 million.
On November 2, Russia’s deputy energy minister confirmed that Indian companies remain interested in the extraction of hydrocarbons on the Russian shelf, as well as in joint projects aimed at selling liquefied natural gas (LNG), though there are no specific projects on the table.
