Russ Oil-Gas

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [GAZP] will join India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in oil and gas exploration and production in India and other countries, the Russian energy giant said Friday. At a session of the Gazprom-ONGC Joint Working Group in India Thursday, the sides considered joint work "to prospect for and develop oil and natural gas deposits in India, Russia and third countries," as well as liquefied natural gas cooperation, Gazprom said in a news release. An ONGC press release said Gazprom had invited the state-owned Indian company to participate in eight projects in Russia including oil and gas projects in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. ONGC suggested Gazprom contribute to integrated petrochemicals, LNG and power projects in India. The sides also examined possibilities of joint work in Qatar, Myanmar (Burma), Libya, Vietnam, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. Gazprom and ONGC officials decided to extend for another two years their 2005 Memorandum of Mutual Understanding, which envisages cooperation in creating capabilities for processing oil and gas, and in organizing deliveries of energy products to markets in southern Asia, primarily India, and other parts of the Asia-Pacific Rim. Gazprom expects that cooperation with ONGC will enable the Russian gas monopoly to further expand its international operations and consolidate its positions on the global energy market.