India’s minister of Oil, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan said there is “no doubt” that his country is interested in the possible participation in Vostok Oil, the major new oil project developed by Russian oil company Rosneft, TASS reports.
The minister gave the comment during this week’s visit to India by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.
In an interview with Times of India, Lavrov said India ultimately could become “the first non-Arctic state that engages in mineral extraction in the Arctic”. Lavrov specifically referred to the Vostok Oil project.
The project includes the development of at least three fields in the Vankor area and the building of a 600 km long pipeline to the north coast of Arctic Ocean. The new pipeline and a projected terminal will enable the partners to export an estimated 25 million tons oil per year through the Northern Sea Route.
The pipeline will also be projected to carry oil from Payakha, the fields located along the Yenisey River.
The confirmative remarks from the Indian minister comes less than three months after he paid a 4-day visit to Vladivostok and the Russian Far East.
