ONGC in talks with US firm for deepsea oil exploration

18 Jan 2012 Evaluate

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks with US energy firm ConocoPhillips to explore possibilities of joining hands for exploration of oil and gas in Indian deepsea and shale gas in North America. ONGC is proposing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ConocoPhillips for cooperation in exploration and development of shale gas and deepwater opportunities.The state-owned firm is keen to rope in a foreign major with technology to develop deepwater finds like the ultra deepsea UD-1 discovery in KG-DWN-98/2 block in Krishna Godavari basin. ConocoPhillips last October visited data room for 19 deepwater blocks of ONGC. ONGC had approached 12 companies working in South East Asia including ConocoPhillips of USA for potential farm-in and a deep water flyer for east-coast blocks was sent to them.ConocoPhillips has shown interest in ONGC deep water blocks and the draft MOU provides for potential exploration and development of shale opportunities in India, North America and elsewhere and potential deepwater opportunities offshore India. ONGC has expressed interest in joining hands with ConocoPhillips, or its affiliates, in shale assets in North America. This is ONGC's fourth attempt to get a credible foreign partner in its exploration acreage after Petrobras of Brazil, Statoil of Norway and BG Group of UK walked out of its ventures for various reasons.While Petrobras and Statoil walked out because of delays in getting regulatory approvals for picking up stake in blocks such as KG-DWN-98/2, BG withdrew as part of its global portfolio realignment. If talks with ConocoPhillips succeed, ONGC is looking at bringing to production dozens of deepsea finds it has made in the Krishna Godavari and Mahanadi basin. ConocoPhillips is the third-largest integrated energy company in the US and the fifth-largest refiner in the world.

ONGC Share Price

244.35 -2.90 (-1.17%)
18-Dec-2024 16:59 View Price Chart
Peers
Company Name CMP
ONGC 244.35
Oil India 445.05
Jindal Drilling&Inds 745.70
Hind Oil Exploration 194.15
Deep Industries 614.05
View more..
© 2024 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.