Pipeliners

MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russian companies are interested in large-scale projects to build oil and gas pipelines in India, a source in the Russian delegation about to travel to the Asian country said on Monday. The delegation will accompany Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov during his official visit to India from February 12 to 13. "India intends to build 16,000 km (9,940 miles) of oil and gas pipelines. Russian companies are prepared to participate in these projects," the source said, adding that Russia's Stroytransgaz, partly owned by energy giant Gazprom, is interested in the projects. The construction of the pipelines in India, which will enable the Asian country to provide international oil and gas transit, "could be an interesting element of Russian-Indian cooperation," he said. Russian-Indian cooperation in the fuel and energy sphere has grown steadily in recent years. India's ONGC is participating in the Sakhalin I oil and gas project off Russia's Pacific Coast and is considering large-scale projects together with Russia's state-controlled oil giant Rosneft in Russia, India and third countries, the source said. The Sakhalin I project has recoverable reserves estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of natural gas.