Indian oil and gas companies reiterated their interests in acquiring oil and gas properties in Russia at the meeting of the India-Russia Trade and Investment forum. While ONGC is eyeing a stake in Russia?s Sakhalin-III and other oil and gas projects in eastern Siberia, gas utility GAIL has also plans to set up petrochemical and city gas plants in Russia.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run ONGC, has proposed to team up with Rosneft to bid for the giant Sakhalin-III Project in Far East Russia. OVL currently has 20% stake in Exxon Mobil operated Sakhalin-I project that produces 12 million tonne of oil a year.
Confirming the move, Sergey Mikhaylov, an official in Russia?s ministry of industry and energy, said, ?India hopes to acquire oil and gas fields in Siberia. Such participation is quite realistic.? On Sakhalin-III, he said, ?The Russian government is studying very closely ONGC?s proposal on Sakhalin-III. A decision is expected soon.?
GAIL also executed an agreement with Russian oil and gas firm Itera for setting up petrochemical plants and city gas projects in that country. The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by GAIL chairman and managing director UD Choubey and Itera CEO Igor Makarov, envisages cooperation in setting up CNG projects in Russia, exploring possibilities for setting up a gas-based petrochemical plant in Russia and jointly investing in oil and gas exploration and production in Russia and CIS countries Russia?s Rosneft is also considering investments in the proposed LNG plant of ONGC at Mangalore. ?Russian companies are also willing to facilitate such participation of Indian companies,? Mikhaylov said, adding that Moscow plans to develop 12 new oil fields in the near future in the east and was talking to various investors.
He said Rosneft, Russia?s largest oil firm, was mulling on investing in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal being built by ONGC at Mangalore in Karnataka.