Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia.
While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region.
Oil and gas sector officials said the Ukraine crisis was unlikely to have any immediate impact on India, but any rise in crude oil prices could be a cause for concern as it would push the import bill up. HPCL Chairman and Managing Director M K Surana warned of supply chain disruptions if the situation in Ukraine worsened.
The worsening geopolitical situation may also impact a few acquisitions by Indian oil companies in the region. Currently, talks are on between Novatek, Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and an Indian private player for a long-term supply deal. Besides, a consortium of Indian companies, including Petronet LNG and ONGC Videsh (OVL), were in talks to acquire a 9.9 per cent stake from Novatek in Arctic LNG 2, a gas field.
Sources said if any sanctions were imposed, then these discussions could slow down. At present, GAIL is having a long-term LNG deal with Gazprom for importing around 2.5 million tonnes (MT) of LNG per year.