Rosneft and Indian Oil sign agreement on increasing oil supplies to India, diversifying grades

MOSCOW. March 29 (Interfax) - PJSC Rosneft and the Indian Oil Company have signed an agreement on substantially ramping up oil supplies to India and on diversifying the grades of oil, Rosneft said in a statement.

Igor Sechin, Rosneft's CEO, and Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, singed the corresponding document during a ceremony with the participation of Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India.

Sechin also held meetings with the representatives of India's government departments, as well as with the directors of a number of major Indian oil and gas companies, during the working trip to India. The parties discussed expanding comprehensive cooperation in the energy industry between Rosneft and Indian companies throughout the entire technological chain, and they discussed the possibility of mutual settlements in national currencies.

"Particular attention was paid to implementing the joint projects between Rosneft and its Indian partners, including Sakhalin-1, Taas-Yuryakh, and Vankorneft," according to the statement.

Since 2016, India's ONGC Videsh Ltd., Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum have held a 49.9% stake in Rosneft's JSC Vankorneft subsidiary, which is developing the Vankor oil and gas condensate field. Additionally, a consortium of Indian companies, including Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroresources, owns 29.9% in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha LLC, which is developing the Central Block and the Kurungsky license area of the Srednebotuobinskoye field.