India Eyes Role in Russian Arctic LNG
India wants to be part of the LNG projects that Russia is developing in the Arctic Shelf, a joint statement by two countries said October 5 during the second day of Russian president Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India.
“The sides expressed their support for continuing the expansion of the dialogue between Novatek and the energy companies of India and welcomed the joint intention to develop co-operation in the field of LNG,” the statement said. Novatek is developing an LNG project Arctic LNG 2 in the north of Siberia, which will be its second such project after Yamal LNG.
India may also be part of the Far East LNG project, according to Putin. Russian state oil giant Rosneft wants to develop that 5mn mt/yr project with its Sakhalin-1 US partner, supermajor ExxonMobil. Exxon though faces pressure from back home to limit investment in spin-off projects in Russia and is in commercial dispute with Rosneft.
"We welcome the interest of Indian energy companies in expanding their business in Russia. We are ready to consider the possibility of co-operation within the framework of such projects as Far East LNG, Arctic LNG 2, as well as other projects for development of natural resources of Siberia, Yamal and the continental shelf in the Russian Federation," said Putin, after talks with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Each side acknowledged the interest of Russian and Indian companies in co-operation in the field of LNG and welcomed the start of long-term contractual LNG supplies from Gazprom to Gail. India received its first such term LNG cargo from Gazprom June 4 aboard carrier LNG Kano at Petronet’s Dahej terminal in Gujarat state. Gail will buy 2.5mn mt/yr of LNG under the 20-year contract.
Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said mid-September that state-owned energy companies are looking to invest in more oil and gas projects in Russia. Indian state-owned firms have been buying stake in Russian oil and gas assets for more than a decade. ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas arm of ONGC, bought a 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project in 2001 and then bought Imperial Energy a few years later.
In 2016, OVL completed the acquisition of 15% equity in Vankorneft for $1.268bn. In a follow-up deal, it bought a further 11% stake in Vankorneft. OVL now holds a 26% interest in Vankorneft, while an Indian consortium of three other state firms – Oil India, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petro Resources – holds 23.9%; Rosneft continues to hold the other 50.1%.
According to the joint statement, the two countries are also looking at joint development of projects on the shelf of the Pechora and Okhotsk Seas, both in the Arctic.
Photo below of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi October 5, courtesy of the Indian government
