Petronet, ONGC eye stake in Arctic LNG

The country’s top energy companies, Petronet LNG Ltd. and ONGC Videsh Ltd., are having discussions about buying a stake in Russia’s planned liquefied-gas project Arctic LNG 2 as their government seeks to secure supplies of the cleaner burning fuel.

Talks about acquiring a joint 9.9% stake from Novatek PJSC are still continuing and no final decisions have been made, according to a member of the Indian energy delegation in Moscow, who is involved in the negotiations and spoke on conditions of anonymity as the matter isn’t public.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for a gas-based economy by doubling the share of the super-chilled fuel to 15% of the country’s energy mix by 2030, which would boost imports of the fuel.

Russia, which vies for a global leadership in liquefiedgas supplies and aims to build a number of production plants in the Arctic with a focus on deliveries to Asia, would be a natural LNG ally for the South Asian nation.

There are Indian companies in contact with Novatek about Arctic LNG 2 and “everything is on the table,” minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters at a briefing in Moscow, without giving further details.

Puri headed the Indian energy delegation at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last week and met with a rang Russian oil and gas execut including Novatek Chief Ex tive Officer Leonid Mikhels

Petronet LNG, ONGC Vi and Novatek didn’t immedi respond to requests for c ment.

Novatek, Russia’s largest ducer of LNG, owns 60% in $11-billion Arctic proj France’s Totalenergies SE, C National Petroleum Corp. Cnooc Ltd. have 10% each, the remaining 10% held by a anese consortium.