India to demand stake in Sakhalin-3 during talks with Putin

India will demand a stake in Sakhalin-3 project in the Far East of Russia and gas fields in East Siberia and Yamal Peninsula during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

Putin arrives here this evening to sign deals worth over $10 billion in sectors like defence and nuclear energy.

ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may sign an agreement with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom OAO, which is developing the Yamal Peninsula, sources in the know said.

India has proposed an agreement between its Oil Ministry and its Russian counterpart for cooperation in hydrocarbon sector, particularly exploration and production, they said, adding Kremlin had not yet responded to the call.

Putin is being accompanied by Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexey Borisovich Miller who OVL will court for possible collaborations.

Gazprom owns licences for at least eight of the 11 gas fields discovered on the Yamal Peninsula.

OVL already has 20 per cent interest in Sakhalin-1 project and wants an agreement with Russia's Rosneft to jointly bid for Sakhalin-3. Also on OVL radar are the Trebs and Titov exploration blocks in Timan Pechora region, for which a partnership with Rosneft will be sought.

Sources said New Delhi may also seek exemption from payment of high taxes on crude oil OVL subsidiary Imperial Energy produces in the Siberian region.