Vajpayee to inaugurate energy forum in Russia

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 2. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee will inaugurate an Indo-Russian energy forum which will prospect for oil and gas across the globe during his visit to Moscow later this year.

The groundwork for this forum, which will become a component for India's search for energy security, began during the visit of the External Affairs and Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, to Moscow . Highly-placed sources in the Government pointed out that Mr. Singh made this proposal when he went there to preside over a meeting of the Indo-Russian Military Technical Group, the apex organisation which gives policy directions to the defence relationship between the two sides. The proposed energy forum will look at possibilities of new investments and joint explorations in each other's countries as well as in third countries.

As for other countries, both sides are looking at moving together into Central Asia, especially Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in the area straddling the Caspian Sea. India and Russia attach considerable urgency to implement this idea, as they are well behind the industrialised countries, which have already moved into these zones. The Chinese involvement in oil and gas exploration projects in Central Asia is also hastening India's bid to find a niche for itself in this area.

Sources pointed out that the Chinese and the Russians have already signed a similar agreement on oil imports and exploration during the visit of the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, to Moscow. Russians, on their part, have, so far, sounded India out that it could join this forum and add a trilateral dimension to it. The sources, however, are of the view that such an arrangement is unlikely in the absence of political trust between New Delhi and Beijing.

But a direct tie-up between India and Russia is promising as both sides have considerable experience in working together in the oil and gas field. India, for instance, has recently made a commitment of $ 1.7 billion to tap oil and gas in Russia's inhospitable Sakhalin region. While the external wing of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) will have a stake of 20 per cent in this venture, Russia is pitching in with 25 per cent of the equity.

The Americans and the Chinese are the other dominant players in developing these fields. India hopes to procure four million tonnes of crude from this area after five years, and gas between five to eight million cubic meters per day. These hydrocarbons could be shipped to India from the Chinese or South Korean ports.

Given the focus on energy security, the External Affairs Ministry has also agreed to set up a new territorial division on energy and environment in South Block. Headed by a Joint Secretary, this division will function under the overall supervision of Secretary, Economic Relations (ER), Mr. Shashank.

An in-house think-tank, in which the economic wing of the MEA, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) will have representations, will advise on policy matters. Others on this panel include India's former ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Naresh Chandra, Mr. G. Parthasarathy, former Indian envoy to Pakistan, and Mr. Rajiv Sikri who had earlier served as ambassador to the resource-rich Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.

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