By Nidhi Verma and Katya Golubkova
NEW DELHI/MOSCOW, March 10 (Reuters) - India plans to signenergy deals with Russian oil major Rosneft next weekto buy stakes in Siberian fields, two sources privy to the dealsaid, as New Delhi accelerates a push to secure overseas energyassets.
India, the world's third biggest oil importer, has to ship inthree quarters of its oil needs and a substantial fall in oilprices has added an extra incentive to seal purchases of assetsthat are now relatively cheap to limit its reliance on imports.
Rosneft's Chief Executive Igor Sechin will visit Delhi onMarch 15-16 to stitch together the deals, the sources said.
Rosneft, the world's biggest listed oil company by output,also stands to benefit as it has been scouting for partners asWestern sanctions tied to Russia's annexation of Crimea havelimited its access to global funds and technology.
Russia is keen to develop and deepen its economic ties withIndia, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, when itsown economy is stagnant, hit by Western sanctions and a plungein global oil prices.
During Sechin's visit, a sale purchase agreement is likelyto be signed with Indian Oil Corp, Oil India Ltd and Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL) for a 29 percentstake in the Taas-Yuriakh oil field, the sources said.
In December, IOC and Oil India signed a memorandum withRosneft, which paves the way for acquisition of a stake inTaas-Yuriakh oil assets in East Siberia.
Later BPRL, the exploration arm of Bharat Petroleum Corp, joined the negotiations.
Taas-Yuriakh, which operates the Srednebotuobinsk field ineast Siberia, is expected to produce more than 5 million tonnesof oil annually in the medium term.
Rosneft last year sold a 20 percent share in Taas-Yuriakh toBP for $750 million, and based on that valuation a 29percent stake could be worth around $1 billion.
India also wants to raise its overall stake in the Vankoroil field in Siberia to 49.9 percent from the current 15percent.
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) is expected to sign a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) with Rosneft to raise its stake in theVankor field in Siberia to 26 percent from the current 15percent, they said.
IOC, Oil India and BPRL may sign an MoU for buying anadditional 23.9 percent stake in the Vankor project, they said.
The sources said the sale purchase agreement for raising thestake in Vankor field will be signed in June at InternationalEconomic Forum in St. Petersburg.
Oil India chairman and managing directors of ONGC Videsh andBPRL did not respond to Reuters' phone calls seeking comment,while no comment was available from Rosneft.
(Editing by Keith Weir)