With Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting today, public sector oil and gas producer Oil India Ltd is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s Zarubezhneft for exploration opportunities in the hydrocarbon sector.

Separately, private sector player Essar and public sector major ONGC will sign agreements with Russian extraction and refinement company Rosneft.

While Oil India and ONGC’s pacts will be for enhancing hydrocarbons opportunities, Essar will be inking a pact to source crude oil from Russia.

While Indian refineries want crude oil at affordable prices, Russia is renewing its ties with India following sanctions by the West over the Ukraine crisis. Between April and October this fiscal year, India bought 0.34 million tonnes of oil from Russia.

Oil India has done business with Russia in the past. Earlier this year, the PSU explorer had acquired a 50 per cent participating interest in an onshore block in Russia, where Petroneft Resources is the operator. The acreage started production on January 1 and the current production share net to Oil India is 1,050 barrels of oil per day.

During President Putin’s visit, another agreement between ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, and Russia’s Rosneft is expected to firm up OVL’s stake in the Vankor oilfields in Eastern Siberia.

In addition, Russia has offered OVL an opportunity to jointly develop the Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye oilfield, also in eastern Siberia.

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