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Canada based $14-billion oil exploration firm Talisman Energy is planning to foray into India and is looking for a partner in gas exploration.
The company plans to participate in the bidding for oil and gas blocks offered under the fifth round of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy.
Company executives are currently on a fact-finding mission in New Delhi. "We want to be an offshore player in gas exploration and are looking for opportunities in India," said Timothy DJ England, senior manager (exploration), Global New Ventures of the Talisman group.
Twenty blocks are on offer under NELP V, of which eight are offshore -- six in deep water and two in shallow water.
Talisman held 25 per cent in Sudan's Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company but had to exit after allegations of human rights violation. It sold its stake in the firm to ONGC Videsh about two years back.
Industry sources said the Talisman delegation was likely to meet Oil and Natural Gas Corporation executives for discussing the farm-in opportunities offered by the Indian company in five deepwater blocks.
The company estimated its produce at 445,000-475,000 barrels of oil equivalent from its various exploration programmes during 2005.
"We want to be an active technology partner," said England, adding that his company would not be restricting itself to just financial participation.
He said the company would insist on operatorship rights in any partnership it entered to in India but alliances would depend on the nature of opportunities. "We would prefer to be operators and take the high equity position," he added.
The company was of the view that it would be in a better position to control costs in a partnership where it would be the operator. Executives said the company would not insist on operatorship in cases where it would be able to achieve this without the right.
The Calgary-headquartered company has a presence in North America, the North Sea and Malaysia and Vietnam and is listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.