Vladivostok, October 24 - Neftegaz.RU. Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the CEO of Rosneft Igor Sechin visited the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex.The shipyard is manufacturing various kinds of vessels, including LNG carriers, offshore vessels and passenger ships.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the facility along with Vladimir Putin, with an aim to learn about the country's capabilities in the shipbuilding sector as well as explore possibilities of cooperation in this area.
The shipyard is a project of strategic importance for Russia's Far Eastern region and the domestic shipbuilding industry that is implemented under the authority of the President and the Consortium of Rosneftegaz, Rosneft and Gazprombank.
The minister, who is accompanied by an official and business delegation, is in Vladivostok from October 22 to 25.
Russia is home to India''s biggest energy investments with state-owned firms having spent close to $10 billion in acquiring stakes in oilfields such as Sakhalin-1, Taas-Yuryakh and Vankor and Siberia-focused company Imperial Energy.
In a series of tweets, Pradhan said that Zvezda will make a "huge contribution in the development of Arctic shipping and developing shipping routes between Russia and India."
"India imports small quantities of oil from Russia. Discussions were held on increasing this share of Russian oil to further diversify our energy basket," he said. "The new sea navigation channel between Vladivostok and Chennai will act as a great facilitator in enhancing our energy engagements", Pradhan noted.
