The Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak has held a meeting with the Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan. This took place on the sidelines of the CERA Week 2017 Energy Conference in Houston, Texas, the United States. They discussed cooperation prospects for implementing Arctic oil and gas projects and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries. This was reported by the new agency TASS, quoting Ministry of Energy sources.

"The parties discussed topical aspects of Russian-Indian oil and gas cooperation, including joint hydrocarbon prospecting and production on the Russian Arctic shelf and other similar production projects in Russia," ministry sources said.

LNG deliveries from Russia to India are a promising aspect of bilateral cooperation, Novak said.

"Considering the Indian market's growing natural gas demand and prospects for expanding new LNG projects, joint LNG trade cooperation is becoming a strategic priority that meets the interests of Russia-India energy cooperation," Novak noted.

The company IHS Markit Consulting organizes the annual CERA Week Energy Conference. This is a major event for oil and gas company representatives. The 2017 conference involves 3,000 participants, including top managers from  such companies as ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Total and industry ministers from Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq and India.