Energy Cooperation As The Backbone Of India-Russia Ties

Context: Russian companies have the potential to be long-term partners with India in aiding its energy transformation.

Significance of India-Russia energy partnership

• Russia, the largest investor in India’s energy sector: With investments in oil and gas sector beyond U.S.$32 billion.
• Scope for expanding nuclear cooperation and aiding green transition: Russian companies have been involved in construction of six nuclear reactors in Kudankulam nuclear power project at Tamil Nadu.
  • Massive potential: Russia is ready to build a dozen reactors in India over the next 20 years.
  • R&D cooperation: Potential of designing a nuclear reactor specifically for developing countries.
• Case study – Reliance Sibur Elastomers partnership: Exhibits the huge scope for joint ventures and collaborations involving private sector.
  • Joint venture plant between India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and Russia’s Sibur, in Jamnagar, Gujarat, now leads the first butyl and halogenated butyl rubber production facility in South Asia.
  • Manifestation of ‘Aatmanirbhar’ and ‘Make in India’: The plant became a significant supplier of butyl rubber in Indian market, previously wholly dependent on imports.
  • Technology transfer: As Sibur is bringing to India unique technology, which is not commercially available in the market and the most advanced in terms of [an] ecological footprint.
  • Supporting economic recovery: by securing uninterrupted critical raw material supply, during the phase of global supply chains disturbances amidst pandemic.
  • Leveraging India’s market capacity: India Energy Outlook 2021 report estimates that the India’s ethylene production is set to grow by two-thirds over the period to 2030.
• Expanding investments into renewables: As India needs approximately U.S.$500 billion of investments in wind and solar infrastructure, grid expansion, and storage to reach 450 GW capacity target by 2030.
  • The strong bilateral investment base in energy sector shall be leveraged to facilitate investments.