India is seeking to participate in the Russian Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project and is open to discussions, the secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Pankaj Jain told Russian media on Tuesday.
"Sakhalin-2 has been on our radar in the past. We considered [participation in] Sakhalin-2, we are interested. Just the conditions under which the project was offered to us [were problematic]. We wanted it on different terms. We couldn't agree on terms," Jain said.
"But we continue to consider the possibilities of investing in Russia from the point of view of oil and gas assets. We are always open to negotiations and participation in Sakhalin-2 or another project if the conditions suit us," Jain said.
Russia is India's fifth-biggest source of liquified natural gas (LNG). Indian refiners have increased the purchase of Russian Urals as Moscow defies sanctions.
Sakhalin-2 is the first Russian project in offshore oil and gas production which involves the development of two offshore fields: Piltun-Astokhskoye (mostly oil) and Lunskoye (mostly gas) north-eastern coast of Sakhalin.
ONGC Plans Rouble Payment For Sakhalin 1
Meanwhile, India's state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd., which has a 20 percent stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil, is reportedly in talks with the Russian government to pay in roubles. ONGC has to pay around $500-600 million.
"We are at an advanced stage of trying to pursue Rosneft to accept the abandonment obligation of OVL for getting back its 20% share (in the Sakhalin 1 project)," Vinod Hallan, a finance executive at OVL, told an analysts' call told media on Monday.
Till 2022, ExxonMobil was operating the Sakhalin-1 project on behalf of an international consortium of Japanese, Indian, and Russian companies. In April 2022, the Texas-based firm pulled out of the project in response to Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine.