Indian Oil Minister Holds Extensive Talks with Russian Energy Firms During SPIEF

During the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) Russian gas giant Gazprom and Indian oil minister discussed plans to supply LNG to GAIL India.

The supplies were discussed in the context of an existing contract between Gazprom and GAIL, Reuters reported citing a statement by Gazprom.

Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited St Petersburg from 16-17 June 2016 where he held talks with leading Russian energy firms. The hallmark of the visit was the signing of a sale purchase agreement for acquisition of 23.9 per cent stake in Vankor oil block by an Indian consortium of Oil India Ltd., Indian Oil and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd. (subsidiary of BPCL) with Rosneft. This follows acquisition of 15 per cent stake in Vankor by OVL for which all formalities were completed late last month.

Pradhan met with and talked energy cooperation with CEOs of Rosneft, Novatek and Gazprom. The minister briefed these companies on government’s recent policy announcements and investment opportunities in the hydrocarbon sector, including on the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) and Small Discovered fields bidding round, Indina oil ministry said in a statement. 

The minister also met with Alenxander Novak, Russia energy minister. Both ministers discussed the entire gamut of oil and gas relations between India-Russia and expressed satisfaction on the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the hydrocarbon sector.