Vladivostok: Indian oil and natural gas Corp.
is evaluating the purchase of shares in the Russian Vostok oil project, a company official said on Thursday, because both countries were trying to deepen their economic ties in the energy sector.
Vostok is one of the largest oil projects in Russia, a size that is comparable to Western Siberian exploration in the 1970s or Bakken Province of Oil for the past decade.
“We are still in the evaluation stage …
we see it (Vostok oil), it is a very large complex project,” AK, Gupta, Managing Director Ongc Videsh Ltd, Overseas investment arm, told Reuters.
He did not provide more details about the agreement.
Rosneft Major Russian oil is in talks with several players about participation in Vostok, which according to initial estimates can require more than 10 trillion rubles ($ 137 billion).
Trafigura’s Global Commodity Trafigura has a 10% stake in Vostok oil and the consortium of vitol and Mercantile & Maritime traders has shown interest in taking 5% of the shares in the project.
Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who was in Russia for an economic forum, met Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and the Head of Rosneft Igor Secthin.
The Forum at the Russian Pacific Port from Vladivostok was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Hope to further strengthen strategic cooperation throughout the energy sector value chain with Russia,” said the Minister of India on Twitter after meeting Shulginov.
Gupta said Russia was a “destination choice” for energy investment by India.
Ongc Videsh has a 26% stake in the field of Russian Vankor and 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project.
In 2009, he obtained Imperial Energy, an independent exploration and production company in Russia.
Russia aims to start shipping oil from the Vostok project planned in 2024 through the North Sea route, alternative from the Suez Canal which shortens the trip to the market in Asia.
Vostok oil consists of Vankor Cluster, West-Irkinsky area, Payakha Fields and East-Taimyr Cluster groups.