India’s decade-long quest for a bigger slice of the hydrocarbons pie in Central Asia got a leg up, thanks to a positive response from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid who called on the long-serving leader on Friday.
With China having already cornered about 40 per cent of this country’s hydrocarbon assets, India’s assessment is that it can get a chunk of the remaining portion if New Delhi plays its political and diplomatic cards right.
On top of its agenda is a minor stake in the Kashagan oilfield, which could herald a firmer Indian foothold. As Mr. Nazarbayev reminded the Indian Minister and accompanying officials, India has already been allotted a quarter of the stake in the Caspian Sea block of Satpayev without going through tender formalities.
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China also covets the Kashagan oilfield but Indian officials say the indications, during meetings with the Kazakh supremo and his External Affairs Minister Erlan Idrissov, in favour of India have been positive. The matter now rests with the Kazakh government, which has to give the necessary clearances.
Mr. Khurshid, though, sought to downplay the incipient India-China rivalry, pointing out that the stake India is keen on amounts to just 8.4 per cent. “We have flagged it very seriously. The process is that the existing stakeholders have to refuse the stake being offered by a company which wants to get out. They had the first right to refuse, which has been exercised. Then the Kazakh government has to take over and decide. It is in the process of deciding what to do. In consultations with other equity holders, they are looking at all possibilities.”
The Minister pointed out that India’s desire for sourcing hydrocarbons did not hinge on the Kashagan field alone. There were many other oilfields which also India could look at, said Mr. Nazarbayev.
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At two meetings in as many months with the Hindi-speaking Mr. Idrissov, India proposed construction of an oil pipeline from Kazakhstan which would traverse Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Kazakh leadership has described it as a “philosophical concept” which will take time to mature. When preliminary studies take place, both sides could closely monitor the contours of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which is slowly getting off the drawing board.
In addition to proposing the pipeline from Kazakhstan, India feels it has the potential to be extended further north to the hydrocarbons-bearing regions of Russia.