Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly Gazprom is considering supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India, a top company official said here today.
"We view them (India) as a prospective market for us and are considering the supply of LNG," Gazprom's Foreign Cooperation Department Head Stanislav Tsigankov said.
He said the LNG plant of Sakahlin-2 project, which last year had sold 65 per cent of the product to Japan and 35 per cent to South Korea, hopes to reach the annual LNG production capacity to 9.6 million tonne.
Speaking at a news conference here, Tsigankov said in view of the growing consumer demand, the cooperation with India is developing successfully at New Delhi's initiative. "We are systematically working with Indian companies, and a number of exploration projects (in the Bay of Bengal) are underway," Tsigankov said.
ONGC Videsh (OVL) has a 20 per cent stake in the neighbouring Sakahlin-1 project operated by ExxonMobil and is keen to process its share of natural gas at Sakahlin-2 for export to India.
OVL is also showing interest in acquiring new stakes in the huge Sakahlin-3 project owned by Gazprom. However, the Eastern projects coordinator of Gazprom today said there were no plans to invite foreign investors in Sakahlin-3 project. "Gazprom has no plans to invite foreign investors. The work is underway independently and we are planning to continue it in the same way," Gazprom's Eastern Projects Director Viktor Timoshilov said.
