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BG gets Enron Oil & Gas India for cut-price $350 million

British gas and oil company BG Group Plc said on Wednesday it was paying $350 million for Enron Oil & Gas India Ltd, down from $388 million previously agreed.

BG said in a statement progress to close the transaction, announced on October 3, was slower than anticipated and the price had been renegotiated lower "to take account of Enron's current position". The Enron unit being bought by BG owns a 30 per cent stake in the three offshore fields.

US energy giant Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on December 2.

"We re-negotiated the agreement taking into account Enron's current position and hope to complete acquisition of Enron India by the middle of next month," the official said.

Unlike in the previous offer, BG has not made operatorship of Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields a precondition for acquisition of EOGIL, he said.

"BG would, however, continue negotiations with other partners in Tapti and Panna-Mukta offsore fields (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries) to secure operatorship," the official said.

Both ONGC and RIL had staked claim for operatorship upon exit of the present operator - EOGIL - which had led to a stalemate in the progress of the agreement.

Other than the revised price and the agreement no longer being conditional on partner consent for EOGIL to continue as operator, there are no significant changes to the transaction concluded in October, he said.

ONGC has 40 per cent stake in offshore Tapti gas field and Panna-Mukta oil and gas field on the east coast of India while Reliance has the remaining 30 per cent.

The other partners in the CB-OS/1 licence are Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (17.36 per cent), Tata Petrodyne (10 per cent) and ONGC (10 per cent).

(With additional inputs from PTI)

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