Russia to boost LNG supplies to India

Russia will significantly boost the supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to energy-hungry India from 2016, President Dmitry Medvedev has announced.

Mentioning the success of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) venture in Sakhalin-1 offshore oil block, Medvedev, who along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed a CEOs' forum of the top companies of the two countries here last evening, also expressed Russia's interest in expanding cooperation with India in hydrocarbons.

OVL has 20 per cent stake in Sakhalin-1, which has estimated reserves of about 307 million tonnes of oil (2.3 billion barrels) and 485 billion cubic metres of gas (17 trillion cubic feet).

Medvedev said that Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom has inked the memoranda covering major supplies of LNG to India with several Indian companies.

He said that his country will significantly boost the supplies of LNG to India beginning 2016.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller had last month said the company would take India's growing demand for LNG into account in its plans to build export facilities under the Eastern Gas Programme.

In his address to the CEOs forum, Prime Minister Singh said that Indian companies were interested in oil and gas projects in Russia.

India's gas consumption is projected to witness a 70 per cent increase by 2020.

According to earlier reports, OVL was in talks with Russia's largest independent gas producer Novatek to participate in the Yamal LNG project.

The project, being implemented by Novatek and France's Total, will produce liquefied natural gas on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic at an estimated cost of USD 15-20 billion, local media reports said.

It will see development of the giant Yuzhno-Tambeiskoye gas condensate field and the construction of an LNG plant. Novatek also plans to build a sea port in the town of Sabetta in Yamal and will construct an ice-class tanker fleet.