The state run exploration and production giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has made a bid for an oil exploration block in west Asian country Syria.
Subir Raha, chairman and managing director, said, The offer for the oil block in Syria was made very recently. This is the latest bid by ONGC for oil equity abroad.
The bid has been made through the wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of the E&P company. The award of the block is awaited.
The company is making rapid stride in overseas acquisitions. Before the Syria bid, ONGC has bid for Kurmangazi oil exploration block in Kazakhstan.
Raha said the company plans to have 10 million tonne oil from abroad in five years from now and Syrian bid was a step in that direction.
Everybody now knows there is an Indian company which can invest millions of dollars abroad. Naturally we are flooded with proposals, Raha said.
He informed that OVL was evaluating more such proposals for picking up oil and gas equity abroad. Syria has thrown open its gate for foreign investment for oil and gas exploration.
The Syrian government recently invited bids for 11 exploration blocks there.
The ONGC chief however, did not divulge details like investment possibility as he chose not to elaborate on the Syrian venture.
The company has, however, plans to invest about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) this year in acquisition of oil equity abroad.
OVL is picking up 25 per cent equity of Canadian Talisman Energy in Greater Nile oil project in Sudan through special purpose vehicle-Nile-Ganga Pte.
ONGC Videsh has also acquired 10 per cent stake in an offshore gas exploration block in Louisiana, USA, through its Houston-based subsidiary Sakhalin India Ltd.
For the first time it also won the operatorship in the Farsi offshore oil and gas field in Iran. In Libya, OVL set to acquire substantial stake in two oil and gas exploration block.
Meanwhile, its one of the first overseas acquisition, the offshore gas block in Vietnam has started reaping fruit. Raha informed the production has already began.
We expect to notch $ 60 million per year revenue from here, he added. OVL has 45 per cent stake in the block while other partners are British Petroleum, Petrovietnam, the national oil company of Vietnam and Statoil.
Earlier, Bengal Initiative chairman Amiya Gooptu pointed out that regional co-operation with Bangladesh and Myanmar could play a crucial role in the country's energy security.
A comprehensive presentation on the Indian energy sector by Roopen Roy of PricewaterhouseCoopers highlighted the need to build strategic stocks and reserves besides stepping up exploration.
Raha admitted in response that explorations efforts had suffered a severe setback in the 1980's and 1990's when forex problems forced the country to abandon such efforts.
Raha said the way to achieve energy security was to secure the sources of supply and transportation of oil and gas.
