VLADIVOSTOK - India and Russia are targeting $30 billion of annual trade by 2025, India's foreign secretary said on Wednesday as a string of energy deals deepened economic ties between the nations.
India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, aims to raise the proportion of gas in its energy mix to 15% in the next few years and diversify its energy supply to hedge against geopolitical risk. Modi, who wants to cut India's oil imports by 10 percent by 2022, is steering efforts to buy foreign energy assets, taking advantage of low global oil prices and a slowdown in China's overseas acquisitions.
Indian companies have stakes in Russian hydrocarbon assets including the Sakhalin-1, Imperial Energy, Vankor and Tass-Yuriakh fields, but it rarely imports oil from there because of logistical constraints and higher freight costs.Among the deals announced on Wednesday, India's top gas importer Petronet LNG agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from Novatek and invest in the Russian company's future projects.