ONGC, Sinopec buy Columbia firm for $850m

The 50:50 joint venture of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and China's Sinopec has acquired Columbian oil firm Omimex de Columbia for $850 million.

"Omimex has oil and gas operations exclusively in Columbia, which include onshore production and exploration areas with gross proved reserves of more than 300 million barrels of oil and current production at approximately 20,000 barrels of oil per day," an ONGC release said.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, and a subsidiary of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp will pay $425 million each for acquiring Omimex de Columbia Ltd from Texas-based Omimex Resources Inc.

Omimex's assets constitute a 100 per cent interest in the Velasquez oilfield and a 50 per cent interest in the Nare and Cocorna oilfield where the Columbian national oil company Ecopetrol SA holds the remaining 50 per cent.

Omimex also owns 100 per cent of the Velasquez-Galan pipeline, which runs 189-km from the Velasquez property to Ecopetrol's Barrancabermeja refinery.

"OVL and Sinopec are equal partner in the acquisition bid," a company official said adding production can be ramped upto 100,000 barrels per day, half of which would accrue to OVL.

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