Indian battleground
Rosneft is expanding its reach in Asia, competing against Middle Eastern exporters
The $12.9bn sale of India's Essar Oil to Rosneft and other investors has opened up a new battleground in Asia, where Russia's state-controlled energy firm is treading on territory considered strategic to Middle East exporters. It follows Saudi Aramco's efforts to build a customer base in Europe, Rosneft's established market. Arundhati Bhattacharya, the chairman of State Bank of India, and Andrei Kostin, boss of Russia's VTB Bank, expect that the deal will close very soon. The original agreement to sell 98% of Essar to the Rosneft-led consortium was first signed in October, but has been repeatedly delayed. Rosneft bought a 49% stake in Essar's refinery, port and petrol pumps, while Netherland
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
