Russia, India Plan to Foster Cooperation in Energy Sphere – Russian Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Yanovsky Anatoly met Indian ambassador Pankaj Saran at the initiative of the Indian side.

"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 ministry said in a statement.

At the request of Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the ambassador said that India appreciated Russia’s participation in the international Petrotech-2016 energy conference and in the BRICS round table. For its part, Russia confirmed participation in the events set to be held in India in early December and backed the intention make 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 through its ONGC Videsh (OVL) subsidiary and owns a 20 percent 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 percent of Vankorneft's shares to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Videsh Limited worth $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.