"The agreement which was reached is of a strategic nature," said Rosneft's President Igor Sechin in a press release on Wednesday.
"The realization of this agreement will have a substantial impact on the scale of economic cooperation between Russia and India. The turnover of goods between the two countries will grow more than 50%."
The agreement was signed on Wednesday at the BRICS summit which is currently taking place in Ufa, Russia, and follows a previous agreement reached by the two companies in New Delhi in December, in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, the companies agreed for Rosneft to obtain equity capital of up to 49 percent in Essar Oil Ltd, which operates the Vadinar refinery and has around 1,500 oil retail outlets in India, with another 1,500 in various stages of planning.
'Hope agreements will boost increased cooperation in hydrocarbon sector between India & Russia.' @prashantruia pic.twitter.com/YvoAzonLUF
— Essar (@Essar) 9 июля 2015
"The strategic potential of the agreement reached between Rosneft – a global leader of hydrocarbon production – and Essar – a world’s leading player in the refining area – can hardly be overestimated," said Sechin in December.
"For our Indian partners, the signing of this agreement represents a vital element of basic supplies diversification which, at the same time, will ensure energy security for the country. The Russian counterpart, in turn, will obtain the possibility of production and supplies volume planning to a new region with considerable growth potential," stated Sechin in December, who also visited the refinery in Vadinar, which is India's second largest, and one of the biggest in the Indo-Pacific region.
