The Hindu Business Line : India may pick up 1% stake in Rosneft

New Delhi May 10 India could consider acquiring 1 per cent stake in Russia's oil major Rosneft. The Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, today indicated the possibility of a consortium approach by state-owned oil companies for acquiring the stake.

An offer to invest in Rosneft was made to India, which according to experts was outcome of the ongoing diplomatic moves between the two countries. The amount of investment is around $1 billion for 1 per cent stake.

The issue to acquire stake in Rosneft was also discussed during the visit of the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, during his visit to New Delhi in January.

Portfolio Investor

The Russian Government has 80 per cent stake in Rosneft, which got listed on Moscow and London stock exchanges last year. This is not the first time that such an offer has been made to India, sources in know say. The Indian companies had earlier felt that they would not like to go as just a portfolio investor, but where there could be some tangible returns apart from cash.

Rosneft raised $10.4 billion through the initial public offering, in which ONGC had planned to purchase $3 billion worth of shares for a 5 per cent stake, but backed out later. Rosneft is a partner in Russia's Sakhalin-I oil and gas project in which ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, holds 20 per cent interest.

As per reports Rosneft had estimated net proven reserves of 20.08 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which includes 15.96 billion barrels of oil and 24.75 trillion cubic feet of gas.

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