ONGC Videsh hopes to bag 2 Russian fields
18 Dec 2010
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is hoping to acquire a stake in the Trebs and Titov fields in the Arctic during Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's visit next week.
OVL is in talks with Russia's OAO Bashneft, which had earlier this month won the rights to develop the Trebs and Titov fields in northwest Russia, official sources said in New Delhi. The fields hold an estimated 1.58 billion barrels of oil reserves.
"Efforts are being made to see that some kind of agreement is signed during Medvedev's visit," he said.
Bashneft, the oil producer controlled by Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov's AFK Sistema, had paid $600 million to get the developmental rights and is looking for partners for the multi-billion dollar development of Trebs and Titov.
Other firms which may possibly be interested include OAO Rosneft and OAO Lukoil, Russia's biggest oil producers.
The official said OVL through its Russian unit had in September bid for the fields but Russia's subsoil agency Rosnedra disqualified it saying it lacked financial capability to develop the Arctic fields.