Putin's India visit to strengthen energy cooperation with Russia

The 19th India-Russia bilateral annual summit, slated to begin on October 5 in New Delhi, is likely to witness the signing of crucial energy deals by the two sides. As a consequence, the share of Indian firms in Russia's oil and gas sector will see a significant increase.The Indian government has been encouraging state-owned firms to purchase stakes in conventional Russian gas fields, including older investments in Sakhalin. The Indian investment in Russia's oil and gas sector exceeds USD 10 billion.Industry sources told Sputnik that India's state-owned ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) may sign a pact with Gazprom during the summit."ONGC Videsh is taking its investment in Russia to another level. We expect a joint development project with Russian Gazprom on the shelf of the Pechora and Okhotsk seas in Russia," the source said.OVL already has stakes in three operational projects in Russia that amounted to 56 per cent of OVL's total overseas production in the financial year ending March 2018. .