ASIATODAY.ID, MOSCOW – Russia and India continue to maintain a strong energy partnership and are developing new agreements to expand cooperation, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev told TASS on Monday.
The official said Russia is ready to offer India liquefied natural gas (LNG) from both existing and future projects, given India’s plans to raise the share of gas in its energy balance to 15%. Tsivilev also noted that India is a major consumer of Russian coal and that Moscow plans to increase coal exports to the South Asian nation to 40 million tons by 2035.
“India remains one of our key partners,” Tsivilev said.
“In 2024, a significant share of our oil exports went to India, and supplies remain at a high level this year. To enhance the reliability of transportation, we are developing a Russian-Indian intergovernmental agreement to expand cooperation in the supply of oil and petroleum products by sea.”
According to recent reports, Russia exported 26.2 million tons of coal to India in 2023, compared with 20 million tons in 2022.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Dmitry Islamov named China, India, and Africa as the most promising markets for Russian coal. According to the ministry, the thermal coal sales potential is concentrated in China, while demand for coking coal is strongest in India.
Tsivilev’s statements come against the backdrop of new US and EU sanctions against the Russian energy sector. Last week, Washington sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, which play a key role in crude supplies to India and China.
On Friday, India’s top oil refiner, Reliance Industries, said it was reviewing the impact of Western sanctions on its Russian suppliers and will adjust operations accordingly while maintaining domestic energy security.
Russia’s crude oil exports to India have risen sharply in the past three years, with shipments reaching about 1.7 million barrels per day by 2024, up from around 50,000 bpd in 2020.
New Delhi has countered Western pressure to cut its trade ties with Moscow, arguing that its imports of energy are based on market realities and are guided by national interests. (RT)
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