RIA Novosti citing Mr Stanislav Tsygankov Gazprom's head of Foreign Relations as saying that Russian gas giant Gazprom is considering the possibility of a liquefied natural gas deals with India.

He said that "They would want to receive Russian LNG, we are talking swaps. He also said that the two countries were discussing India possible concession of its share of gas in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project as part of a future LNG deal.”

India ONGC holds a 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project.

Mr Tsygankov said "It is one of the elements of the talks, though it is not yet being implemented.”

The Sakhalin-1 project includes the Chaivo, Odoptu and Arkutun-Dagi deposits, with reserves estimated at about 307 million tonnes of oil and 485 billion cubic meters of gas.

(Sourced from RIA Novosti)