Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Mr Dharmendra Pradhan held a 4-day visit to Japan and Russia from October 22- 26, 2019.
- It was a follow-up visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok, Russia for the 5th Eastern Economic Forum 2019 (September).
- He visited Tokyo, Japan to participate in the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) Ministerial Meet 2019.
Visit to Russia (October 22-25, 2019)
The Minister visited Vladivostok, Russia from October 22-25, 2019. Following are the highlights:
Visit to Sakhalin field and Rig Kreche
i. The Minister visited the Sakhalin oil field and Rig Krechet, the biggest and most powerful land rig in the world.
ii. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) Videsh Limited has 20% stakes of Sakhalin-1 since 2001. Exxon Mobil, Rosneft, Japanese SODECO (Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co) and ONGC Videsh are the partners who will continue to produce oil and gas till 2055.
Bilateral meetings
i. He met Mr. Sergey Tyrtsev, first Deputy Minister for development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and held discussions on extending energy cooperation between both countries.
ii. He met Mr. Vadim Mikhailov, Deputy Head of Russian Railways and discussed the logistical issues in the evacuation of coking coal.
iii. He held discussions with Senior Management of Vostochny intermodal container port.
Other highlights
i.He reviewed oil and gas projects being undertaken in the Russian far-east, including India Russia joint collaborations.
ii.He visited the shipbuilding Complex, Zvezda. He was accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rosneft, Mr Igor Sechin.
iii. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas clarified that it did not issue any advertisement for opening of dealership/distributorship of petroleum products through LPG VITARAK KENDRA. It was done by some unscrupulous persons using the name and logo of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas.
Visit to Japan (October 25-26, 2019)
The Minister held a visit to Tokyo, Japan from October 25-26, 2019. Following are the highlights:
Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity Ministerial Meeting 2019 in Tokyo
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) Ministerial Meeting 2019 held in Tokyo, Japan from October 25-26, 2019 on the invitation of the Japanese Minister of Economy Trade and Industry. It was organised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan.
i.Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Mr Hiroshi Kajiyama chaired the meeting.
ii.Japan is the current Chair of the forum.
iii. India is the world’s third-largest steel-consuming country. The government aims to increase the per capita steel consumption of steel from its current low of 72 kg per capita to 160 kg per capita by 2030. India is committed to spend about US $1.4 trillion on infrastructure development in the next 5 years.
iv. On the sidelines of the meeting, the Minister met the European Union Head of delegation Ms Sandra Gallina, Deputy Director General of Trade, European commission.
Meetings with top steel producers of Japan
i. The minister met Mr. Masayuki Hirose, Vice President, JFE Steel Corporation, Japan’s one of the largest Steel manufacturers; Mr. Katsuhiro Miyamoto and Mr. Taisuke Nomura from Nippon Steel Corporation’s Global Business Development team and the representatives of Daido Steel Co Ltd in Tokyo.
ii. He invited them to invest in India.
About Russia:
♦ Capital: Moscow
♦ Currency: Russian ruble
About Japan:
♦ Capital: Tokyo
♦ Currency: Japanese Yen