India has moved to deepen its energy ties with Russia after state-owned oil company ONGC’s overseas investment arm secured a significant share in one of Siberia’s most productive oil fields.
OVL, the international investment division of India’s ONGC, has agreed to purchase a 15 percent stake in the Vankor field in Russia’s far east for a reported $1.2 billion. The field is the second largest in Russia and had until this point been developed exclusively by the Russian state energy company Rosneft.
Political backing for the acquisition was reportedly granted at the recent BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit held in the Russian city of Ufa, signalling that the deal carries approval at the highest levels of both governments.
The purchase marks another step in India’s ongoing effort to secure and diversify its energy supplies as its economy and population continue to expand rapidly. OVL already holds a 20 percent stake in the Sakhalin-I project, also located in Siberia, meaning the Vankor deal adds to an already established Russian energy portfolio for the Indian firm.
The agreement is seen as a further strengthening of the economic relationship between New Delhi and Moscow at a time when India has been actively pursuing energy partnerships across multiple regions to meet growing domestic demand.
