Indian petroleum minister to discuss Yuganskneftegaz acquisition

Indian petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is expected to arrive in Russia today for a two-day visit. The visit has been designed to offer Russian fuel and energy companies the opportunity to take part in the development of new gas and oil fields in India. The Indian minister will take part in the presentation of development plans for the fields. Aiyar also proposes to hold meetings with Russian senior deputy PM Alexander Zhukov, industry and energy minister Viktor Khristenko, as well as with the heads of a number of energy and finance companies. Indian government representatives have repeatedly mentioned that the Indian ONGC was still interested in purchasing YUKOS assets, and the authorities were expected to negotiate over the issue in February.