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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

 

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--Oil India: Assets in Russia will not see any impact from US tariffs
--CONTEXT: Comments by Oil India mgmt in post-AGM press conference 
--Oil India: Picked up 2 critical minerals blocks for vanadium, graphite 
--Oil India: Picked up potash and allied block in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan 
--Oil India: Will request government to fix 2G ethanol price 
--Oil India: Exploration drive in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on track 
--Oil India: To target Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar for oil exports 
--Oil India: Dividends totalling $300 mln stuck in Russian asset currently

 

NEW DELHI – State-owned enterprise Oil India Ltd. is confident that operations of its Russian assets will remain unaffected by geopolitical developments and by tariffs. Oil India sees no impact on its near-term production plans from its Russian assets, company Chairman Ranjit Rath told a press conference after its annual general meeting Thursday. However, dividends of around $300 million from its Russian assets are stuck, he added.

 

Oil India had received a dividend of $942 million from its Russian assets in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), which represents over 91% of the company's original investment in Russian companies Vankorneft and Taas Yuryakh.

 

Oil India had also invested in the Golfinho-Atum liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, which was affected by a security issue. The project, which is operated by TotalEnergies, was negatively affected by a deadly attack on the site by insurgents in 2021. "With improved security conditions, the project is expected to restart in the second half of 2025 and is well positioned to meet the growing demand of the Indian gas market," Rath said. 

 

The upstream company expects overall cost escalation to the tune of $19 billion-$19.6 billion due to this single issue. Oil India holds 4% stake in the project.

 

Oil India said its exploration initiatives in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are on track. "We have got 10,000 square km area (for drilling) on either side of the island, which are shallow water wells," Rath said. The company is drilling a second well, which is 4,200 metres deep, in the region. Oil India intends to drill two more wells in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

 

The company recently picked up two blocks of vanadium and graphite to bolster India's critical minerals ambitions. "The geological mapping of these blocks is underway and post monsoon, we will start exploration drilling in these blocks," Rath said. Oil India is looking to source around 5 million tonnes of each of these critical minerals.

 

Oil India also picked up a potash and allied block of around 100 square km. "We are getting excellent support from Government of Rajasthan," Rath said. "Potash will be a fertiliser mineral which is a 100% import substitution initiative."

 

With Oil India having inaugurated the world's first bamboo-based second-generation bio-ethanol plant at Numaligarh in Assam last week, Rath said the company will be asking the government to fix a price for it. "While prices for 1G (first-generation) ethanol are fixed in the country at about INR 71-72 per litre, 2G does not have that," he said. "We will request the government to fix 2G ethanol prices."

 

First-generation ethanol is produced from food crops such as sugarcane, maize, or rice grown primary for food. Second-generation ethanol is derived from agricultural residue such as husk, stalks, and crop waste--materials that would otherwise be unused.

 

On the company's export plans, Rath said it is in talks with oil marketing companies to export to dealers in Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The company currently exports only to Bangladesh.

 

Thursday, shares of Oil India closed 1.1% lower at INR 399.15 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Anand JC and Pallavi Singhal

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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