Time for a chat: Murli Deora
Sakhalin 3 on Deora's agenda
India's Oil Minister Murli Deora will meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss India's interest in the Sakhalin 3 project, an Indian government statement said.
The two leaders would also discuss the forming of a joint venture between Rosneft and the ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
ONGC already holds a stake in Sakhalin 1 project and in late August, ONGC agreed to a takeover of Imperial Energy, a mid-sized London-listed Russian oil producer for $2.6 billion.
Last week, Russia's antitrust watchdog said it needed more time to review ONGC's bid as it believed the deal could limit competition.
Industry officials said the Imperial deal would be high on Deora's agenda during his visit to Moscow, but ONGC chairman RS Sharma and a senior oil ministry official denied this, Reuters said.
Industry insiders and sources close to the deal say an agreement should be reached before the end of this year.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to go to New Delhi on 3 December to clinch the deal, trade sources in Moscow told the news agency, but a Kremlin spokesman could not confirm the trip.
In August, Deora said the Russian president was "very supportive" of ONGC's bid.