THE overseas arm of state-run explorer
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) ONGC Videsh Ltd has inked a Letter of Intent (LoI) to expand its oil and gas exploration in offshore Vietnam. The LoI was signed during the President Pranab Mukherjee's just
concluded trip to the Southeast Asian country.
OVL will
consider exploring in two to three blocks out of the 5 areas in South
China Sea that Vietnam...
had offered on nomination basis in November
last year.
The five blocks or areas - 17, 41, 43,
10&11-1 and 102&106/10, offered in November last year lie
outside the territory claimed by China in the South China Sea.
"OVL and PetroVietnam, the major
oil producing state-owned company of Vietnam, signed a Letter of
Intent (LOI) on September 15 to participate in the exploration of oil
and gas in offshore Vietnam," the company said in a statement.
The LoI was signed by OVL managing director Narendra K Verma and PetroVietnam president and CEO Do Van
Hau in Hanoi.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was
also present at the signing.
"The LoI provides for expansion of
exploration activities by OVL in Vietnam by considering participation
in 2-3 additional blocks subject to technical and commercial
viability and requisite approvals," it said.
In return, PetroVietnam may consider
participation in some of the exploration blocks of OVL on mutually
agreeable terms subject to due-diligence.
OVL forayed into Vietnam as early as
1988, when it bagged the exploration license for Block 06.1. The
company got two exploration blocks - Block 127 and Block 128, in
2006.
However, Block 127 was relinquished
after completing the work programme, and the other Block 128 is
currently under exploration.
Additionally, ONGC Videsh and
PetroVietnam have been engaged in further discussions for possible
expansion of cooperation in hydrocarbon sector of Vietnam, the
statement said.
OVL had relinquished Block 127 in
offshore Phu Khanh Basin after it failed to find any oil or gas in
the area.
Though it had decided to withdraw from
adjacent Block 128, it has decided to stay put because of India's
strategic interests in the region. The exploration period for the
block has been extended until June 15, 2015.
China claims sovereignty over most of
the South China Sea where Block 127 and 128 are located and had
warned the Indian arm from drilling in the region.
OVL continues to own 45 per cent in
Vietnam's offshore block 6.1 and its share of production was 2.023
billion cubic metres of gas and 0.036 million tonnes of condensate.
ONGC Videsh is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of ONGC and is India’s largest international oil and gas
E&P company. At present, ONGC Videsh has participation in 35
projects in 16 countries including Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,
Brazil, Colombia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mozambique, Myanmar,
Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela. ONGC Videsh is
currently producing about 160 thousand barrels of oil and oil
equivalent gas per day and has total oil and gas reserves of 637
mmtoe as on March 31, 2014.
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