Oil India has recovered over 91% of its $1 bn investment in Russia projects

New Delhi: Oil India has recovered over 91% of its $1 billion investment in Russia’s Vankorneft and Taas Yuryakh projects, receiving about $942 million in dividends, and expects full recovery in the coming financial year, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Ranjit Rath said.

Talking to reporters after the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, Rath said that about $330 million worth of dividends are currently stuck in its bank accounts in Russia, which it expects to receive in the next fiscal year.

“Your company maintains a strong presence in overseas producing and development assets across Russia, Venezuela and Mozambique through joint ventures. These assets contribute significantly to your company’s reserves and production portfolio, with cumulative production of 2.097 mmtoe (million metric tonnes of oil equivalent) during FY24-25 primarily from Russia. A highlight of the year was the robust dividend flow from Russian assets, amounting to $942 million representing over 91% of our original investment in Vankorneft and Taas Yuryakh, with full recovery expected in the coming year,” he said while addressing the shareholders at the company’s 66th annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

Oil India, ONGC Videsh and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd acquired 23.9% stake in JSC Vankorneft and 29.9% stake in LLC Taas-Yuryakh from Rosneft Oil Company, the national oil company of Russia. Rosneft operates Vankor and Tass-Yuryakh fields and are its-wholly owned subsidiaries.

Speaking on the Mozambique LNG project, he said that construction of the facility is expected to resume by the end of 2025.

“In Mozambique, your company has invested in the world-scale LNG project, which will establish a 13.12 mmtpa low-carbon, integrated two-train LNG facility. With improved security conditions, the project is expected to restart in second half of 2025 and is well-positioned to meet the growing demand of the Indian gas market,” he said.

On the operational performance of the company, the cumulative production of oil and gas in FY25 reached a record level of 6.710 million metric tonne oil (mmto) equivalent.

“Your company recorded its highest-ever oil and oil-equivalent gas production of 6.710 mmtoe since inception, along with the highest-ever natural gas production of 3,252 mmsc (million metric standard cubic meters). Crude oil production also maintained consistent year-on-year growth, rising from 3.01 mmt in FY21-22 to 3.458 mmt in FY24-25-an increase of nearly 15% over three years,” he added.

The cumulative capex estimated for this fiscal (FY26) is around ₹17,000 crore, he told the media post the AGM, compared to around ₹8,500 crore in the past fiscal. The company has set a target of of ₹1.3 trillion worth of cumulative capital expenditure by the end of the decade.