Hardeep Singh Puri visits Sakhalin-I oilfield in Russia

Sep 04,2021

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday visited the Sakhalin-I oilfield in Russian Far East and said that the project which he visited today is an engineering marvel with one of the tallest rigs in the world.

"Vajpayee Ji's visionary leadership. Visited Sakhalin-I oilfield in Russian Far East. The project concluded in 2001 as a result of the futuristic vision of our beloved former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. Has proved to be one of our most successful investments abroad," Singh tweeted.

"Our investment of USD 330 million in 2001 has already given us a surplus of USD 3.7 billion; it will yield more in the years to come. Project is an engineering marvel with one of the tallest rigs in the world, at Odaptu which I visited today," he added. Singh, who is on a five-day visit to Russia from September 1 to 5 participated in the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) Summit in Vladivostok as India looks to strengthen its association with the mineral-rich region of Russia.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas earlier said that India and Russia have robust and growing bilateral energy cooperation, which is a key pillar of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Russia is the largest investment destination for the Indian oil and gas companies. Indian public sector companies have made investments in Russia of about USD 16 billion, including in the Far East and East Siberia, in oil and gas assets such as Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-Yuryakh.

Russia is also the largest investor in India's oil and gas sector.