India's Vostok plan slows as US firms skip Russia

India’s plans to invest in a massive Rosneft project in Vostok have stalled as American consultants who conduct third-party studies and due diligence stay off the sanctions-hit Russian Federation, two officials aware of the development said.

- Rituraj Baruah & Utpal Bhaskar

In November 2021, Mint reported about a consortium of state-run firms—ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL)—completing the technical evaluation of 30 out of 52 licence areas of the Vostok project. India is also looking to invest in Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Arctic LNG-2, by purchasing a stake from Novatek. The transactions hold importance for India, the world’s third-largest oil buyer.

With an estimated reserve of about 6 billion tonnes of crude oil and expected production of 100 million tonnes (mt) in 2030, Vostok is part of a multi-pronged energy partnership between India and Russia. It is the largest greenfield oil and gas project in the world and comprises 52 licence areas with 13 oil and gas fields, including Vankor, Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye, Lodochnoye, Payakhskoye and Zapadno-Irkinskoye.