OVL bags 2 onshore blocks in Colombia

ONGC Videh, the overseas investment subsidiary of the country's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has won two onshore oil and gas exploration blocks in Colombia.

"ONGC Videsh has bagged two blocks in Colombia--block CPO 5 and Block SSJN 7. Block CPO 5 is in the highly prospective onshore Llanos Basin and Block SSJN 7 is in prospective onshore Sinu San Jacinto Basin," OVL said in the statement.  The company has been awarded 100 per cent interest in block CPO 5 and 50 per cent in Block SSJN 7, the release said. Colombia had put on auction 43 blocks in four basins.

OVL qualified as an operator along with other global oil companies such as Brazil's Petrobras and Royal Dutch Shell, the world's second largest oil firm.  Already, OVL has a presence in Colombia with interest in a producing asset and three offshore exploratory assets, the release said. Further details such as the work programme for the blocks OVL won and how much investment it has proposed was not known.  In September 2006, OVL in partnership with Chinese firm Sinopec acquired Omimex de Colombia for $850 million.