India seeks Russian investment in refining, petrochem

India on Wednesday invited Russian companies to invest in its oil refining and petrochemical projects as the two nations vowed to increase energy cooperation going beyond LNG supplies and stakes in Russian oil and gas fields.

Indian state-owned firms have stakes in four sets of oil and gas fields in Russia and they will continue to look at investing in producing fields in the resource-rich nation, said a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's annual bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin here.

"India-Russia hydrocarbon cooperation is a major pillar of India-Russia strategic partnership and has grown over the last two decades. Notably, the last 5 years have witnessed a major boost in cooperation in this area," the statement issued by the Indian government said.

The two sides, it said, share ? common understanding that energy is crucial for the development of their people and economy and they recognised the importance of global energy markets that ...