ONGC chief expresses concern over Moscow's Sakhalin-1 move: press
Oil and Natural Gas Corp's chairman Alka Mittal hopes New Delhi's strong relationship with Russia will prevent Moscow from interfering with its shareholding in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, Reuters reported July 7.
Mittal said: ""I hope it would not impact us ... our relation is too strong and it has been for too long."
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
ONGC's foreign investment unit, ONGC Videsh, owns a 20% stake in Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field. The Sakhalin-2 LNG project, the Gazprom-operated development also situated on Sakhalin Island, was seized by Russia under a Kremlin decree issued June 30, forcing the departure of Japan's Mitsui and Mitsubishi as well as Shell, though the latter company planned to leave Russia anyway.
The worry now is that Moscow will put other upstream oil and gas investments at risk, as tensions over its actions in Ukraine continue to escalate. Reuters claimed a senior Russian lawmaker said earlier today that a move to bring Sakhalin-1 under state control was likely, potentially freezing ONGC out of the picture as well as fellow shareholders ExxonMobil (30%) and SODECO (30%). Russia's Rosneft holds a 20% stake in Sakhalin-1, which was once estimated to contain 17.1 trillion ft3 in recoverable gas reserves.
India is officially neutral to the invasion, and the Sakhalin-1 project has been described as a touchstone for New Delhi's "long lasting friendly" relationship with the Kremlin.