Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Petroleum minister Murli Deora returned to India Thursday after a visit to Russia, during which he proposed several joint projects between Indian and Russian oil companies and lobbied for an Indian stake in the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas project.The petroleum and natural gas ministry in a statement said Deora returned Thursday morning after a two-day visit, during which he also met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

During the meeting, the Russian leader stressed the need for strengthening ties between the two countries, saying the various proposals of cooperation should be discussed at greater detail at the company-to-company level.

Deora strongly pitched for a stake in the Sakhalin-3 project, on the lines of India’s interest in Sakhalin-1. “We would like to have a similar kind of arrangement as we have in Sakhalin-1,” Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters here.

The minister also suggested a joint venture between ONGC Videsh and Russian energy firm Rosneft for exploration and development of projects in East Siberia and the Vankor field.

He expressed India’s interest in joint bidding for Trebs and Titov oilfields in the Timan Pechora region and conveyed keenness to purchase liquefied natural gas to meet the country’s growing energy needs.

Deora met his Russian counterpart Sergei Shmatko and invited him to the India-CIS round table on hydrocarbons being organised in Delhi Nov 25-26.

Earlier, during a transit halt at Ashgabat airport, he held a 45-minute meeting with Turkmenistan’s Oil Minister Annaguly Deryayev, where they talked about increased cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, with specific reference to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.