New Delhi (Sputnik) — India will invest into the Gazprom owned Yamal gas reserves in Russia, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said.
"We are planning to invest in the Yamal project and see whether we can get equity in natural gas," he said.
Russian Gazprom PJSC is the world's biggest natural gas producer and has delivered 1.7 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to India since 2009.
Pradhan stated that Russia is an essential part of India's energy security goals and India is working to lay a gas pipeline through Central Asia from Russia.
Dharmendra Pradhan visited Russia last week to attend the St. Petersberg International Economic Forum in a bid to boost energy ties between the countries. During the visit, a Sales Purchase Agreement for acquisition of a 23.9 per cent stake in Vankor was signed by Indian Consortium of Oil India Ltd., Indian Oil and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd. with Rosneft. This follows the acquisition of a 15 per cent stake in Vankor by OVL for which all formalities were completed on May 31, 2016.
On investing into Russia's energy sector Pradhan said, "India is targeting about 50% stake in Rosneft's Vankor project and India's investment in Russian Oil fields seen at approximately USD 6 billion."
