ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas arm of state-run oil explorer ONGC, plans to complete the $1 billion acquisition of a stake in an Azerbaijan oilfield by the first quarter of 2013 subject to government and regulatory approvals.
Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is said to be studying the deal.
It may be recalled that in September 2012, OVL agreed to buy US energy firm Hess Corp’s 2.7213 per cent stake in the Azeri, Chirag and the deep water portion of Guneshli fields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea and 2.36 per cent interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline for $1 billion.
One of the largest producing oil fields in the world, ACG is located in the south Caspian Sea, about 95 km off the coast of Azerbaijan.
The field, which was operated by UK’s BP, produces around 700,000 barrels a day (35 million tonne per annum) of crude oil. This is more than India’s annual oil production.
Once the deal is signed, OVL would get a share of over 19,000 bpd or a little less than one million tonne per annum of output from the field.
The acquisition would bring 9 per cent additional proved reserves to OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, or ONGC) portfolio, reports suggest.
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