Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
India is ready to double the investments for the project on development of Azerbaijan's large Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields, says Sanjay Rana, Indian ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Indian oil companies are very interested in oil fields in the Caspian Sea and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Rana told reporters in Baku Feb. 12.
The diplomat said the Indian companies are ready to increase their investments in the ACG project to the extent possible.
"At present, the Indian investments in the ACG amount to $1 billion," said Rana. "We could invest the same amount in that deposit."
The ambassador also said the gas sector is another priority for developing the two countries' cooperation.
"India's national gas company GAIL Limited and [Azerbaijan's] SOCAR signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the production, purchase and transportation of liquefied gas in 2014," he said. "This area is also of interest to us."
"Our companies are open to cooperation and negotiations with SOCAR in those areas," added Rana.
India is present in the ACG via ONGC, which owns a 2.72-percent share in the project.
The proven reserves of light oil reach 1 billion tons at the ACG block.
BP is the project's operator.
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