India and Russia are talking about expanding their energy partnership by increasing imports of crude oil from Russia and possibly signing a memorandum of understanding on imports of coking coal to meet the requirements of the Indian steel industry.
These issues were discussed in a video meeting between Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, who told ET about developments.
The ministers also reviewed ongoing projects and plans, including the participation of Indian companies such as Indian Oil Corporation in Russia's state-owned Rosneft Vostok oil project in the Russian Arctic, Novatek's supply of LNG to H-Energy, Gail-Gazprom cooperation, joint projects with Gazpromneft, and Rosneft's supply of crude oil to Indian Oil.
Delhi is seeking a long-term agreement on the supply of crude oil from Russia as it seeks to diversify its sources of hydrocarbons, according to ET.
India has begun negotiations with Russia on long-term guaranteed supplies of crude oil , especially from Russia's Far East, and has also invited Russian companies, in particular gas, gas infrastructure and petrochemicals, to invest in India.
At the meeting on Wednesday, it is understood that Novak is committed to supporting Indian energy needs and briefed Pradhan on the recently signed OPEC+ agreement.
Pradhan welcomed the agreement as an important step towards providing stability and predictability to global energy markets and stressed that the Indian economy will continue to be a demand center for hydrocarbons.
The two ministers also emphasized cooperation in the coking coal sector, an area where considerable progress has been made since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia in September 2019. In this context, Novak welcomed Pradhan 's suggestion to convene a meeting of the High Working Group on Coal to finalize the MoU for Coking Coal Imports from Russia.
India is keen to explore the new sea route to Russian Arctic crude oil and LNG. The route has the potential to reduce the time and cost of transporting LNG from Russia to India. Revival of the VladivostokChennai shipping line will also facilitate the sourcing of coking coal from the Russian Far East region from Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, with an estimated 10-14 billion tons of oil and 14-15 trillion cubic meters of gas.
India is expected to play a key role in the resurgence of demand, which will be central to the global economic revival after the crisis of the 19th century.
