India, Russia oil ties |
Leading state-run oil companies in India signed a clutch of deals — potentially worth over $4 billion once all of them are completed — for acquiring a stake in Russian major Rosneft’s most promising oilfields in Siberia, adding commercial depth to the Soviet-era strategic ties between India and Russia.The deals put oil into the main frame of bilateral engagement — so far dominated by defence and strategic issues — and show New Delhi’s resolve to push big-ticket oilfield acquisitions abroad when low crude prices are making life difficult for operators and China feels hamstrung by economic slowdown.For Rosneft, Russia’s biggest producer and the world’s largest publicly-traded oil company, the deals bring funds for developing new fields and paying off part of massive debt raised to fund acquisition of TNKBP, a vertically integrated oil company, in 2013.With sanctions blocking access to western funding, Kremlin-backed Rosneft is looking east where India especially looks attractive — both in terms of market for crude and funds — with 6-7% economic growth rate and 7% rise in annual fuel demand.
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