New Delhi/Moscow: India's top energy companies including ONGC Videsh Ltd is discussing buying a stake in Russia's massive Vostok oil project as well as a planned liquefied gas project Arctic LNG-2, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is evaluating buying a minority stake in the Vostok Oil project, which contains combined estimated resources of over 6 billion tonnes or around 44 billion barrels, of premium crude.
It alongside Petronet LNG Ltd is negotiating to buy a 9.9 per cent stake from Novatek.
"A number of new potential investments were discussed Vostok Oil, Artic LNG-2 (and) petrochemicals," Puri, who was in Russia to attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, told reporters in Moscow before departing back to New Delhi. Posting a short clip of the press interaction on his Twitter account, he said these investments will lead to further strengthening and deepening of relations between Russia and India.
"During my interaction with members of the fourth estate in Moscow, I briefed them about my fruitful & productive visit to Russia, a vital partner for our energy security," he said in a Twitter post. He said the business delegation he led had a large number of meeting with all the major economic & energy sector players.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov said almost all major companies -- including Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, and Novatek -- were interested in developing new projects with Indian oil and gas companies.
"We see prospects for energy cooperation in all areas," Shulginov said at the Russian-Indian business dialogue.
According to Puri, Indian oil companies have already invested about $16 billion in the Russian oil and gas sector including in projects such as Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-Yuryakh, and Russia invested the same amount in India.
During his 5-day visit, the minister also met with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin who made a presentation on the Vostok Oil megaproject, which links some of Rosneft's vast resources with the Northern Sea Route.
He also met Novatek Chief Executive Officer Leonid Mikhelson during the visit.
Oil production at the cluster may reach 115 million tonnes, or around 2.3 million barrels per day, by 2033, Rosneft said.
Novatek, Russia's largest producer of LNG, owns 60 per cent in the $11-billion Arctic project. France's TotalEnergies and a Japanese consortium have a 10 per cent stake each in the project. China's CNPC and Cnooc Ltd also have 10 per cent each.
The partners expect to start the first train in 2023, with the Arctic LNG 2 plant reaching its full nameplate capacity of 19.8 million tonnes in 2025.
"We held very productive discussions on further strengthening our strategic partnership with Russia in the energy sector," Puri said on Twitter on his meeting with Rosneft head Igor Sechin.
The Vostok Oil in the far northern Taymyr Peninsula is one of the most prospective oil production projects in the world. It includes 52 license areas with a resource base of more than 6 billion tons of oil.
Moreover, three years after its much-acclaimed maiden entry into Israeli water that was symbolic of New Delhi's growing closeness with Tel Aviv, an ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)-led Indian consortium has relinquished the offshore oil block due to "very poor" hydrocarbon prospectivity.
The consortium of OVL, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Oil India Ltd and Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BRPL) has relinquished offshore Block-32, two officials with the partners said.
When the Indian consortium in late 2017 won the Israeli energy ministry's nod to bid for the block, it was hailed as New Delhi's growing closeness with Tel Aviv amid a widening chasm with Iran over its recalcitrance in awarding the Farzad-B gas field development rights to the OVL-led group.
The nod for the Offshore Block-32 by the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources came ahead of the then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India in January 2018.
Before that oil and gas was not part of the bilateral engagements between the two sides.
The block was awarded to the four partners in the first Israel Offshore Bid Round 2016 and the Petroleum License was signed on March 27, 2018, the officials said, adding the four partners held 25 per cent apiece in the block whose petroleum license was valid up to March 26, 2021. OVL, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), was the operator through Indus East Mediterranean Exploration Ltd (IEMEL).
The officials said the Indian partners carried out an assessment of hydrocarbon prospectivity based on the available 2D and 3D seismic data and submitted a report to the Israeli Petroleum Commissioner on March 28, 2019.
The report along with prospectivity analysis of the block was submitted to the regulator," an official said. "Due to very poor hydrocarbon prospectivity, the consortium decided to relinquish the block and the notice of relinquishment was issued to the Petroleum Commissioner, Israel. The Petroleum Commissioner, Israel has approved the relinquishment."
Block-32 has an area of 356.98 square kilometres and was located offshore Israel with water depth ranging between 1,500-1,800 meters.
As per the bid conditions, the partners were supposed to carry out reprocessing and interpretation of available seismic data. The seismic and other G&G data was sourced from Israeli authorities.