OVL says will get stake in Myanmar oil block despite losing bid

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), which had lost out in the competitive bidding for Myanmar oil blocks may still get a stake in a deep-sea block in Myanmar.

OVL, the overseas arm of India's state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp, could get up to 49-per cent stake in the deep-water oil and gas block won by the international company, OVL managing director S P Garg said.

Garg refused to divulge the identify the company, but said OVL could get up to 49 per cent in the deep-water oil and gas block won by the international company.

OVL had bid for two of the 10 shallow-water blocks that Myanmar had auctioned in December but failed to secure any when the fields were awarded on 26 March.

"We had a pre-bid understanding with an international oil company that if we were to win any shallow-water acreage, they will farm-in. Similarly, in case that company was successful in picking up any of the deep-sea acreages it bid for, we would get a stake," Garg said.

The international oil companies that secured oil and gas blocks in Myanmar's maiden licensing round include London-based Ophir Energy plc, France's Total and Italy's Eni.

Royal Dutch Shell was awarded deep-water blocks AD-9, AD-11 and MD-5 as operator, all alongside Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration, according to Myanmar's ministry of energy.

US giant ConocoPhillips won deep-water block AD-10 with Norwegian state-owned Statoil as operator.

Ophir Energy plc secured deep-sea block AD-3 and Total won the YWB block while Italy's Eni picked up deep-water blocks MD-2 and MD-4 on its own.

Reliance Industries won two of the three offshore oil and gas blocks it bid for while Oil India Ltd, along with partners Mercator Petroleum Ltd and Oilmax Energy Pvt Ltd, won two of the three blocks it bid for.

RIL won shallow-water blocks M-17 and M-18 while OIL and its partners bagged blocks M-4 and YEB, according to Myanmar's ministry of energy.

The other deep-sea blocks went to groups of global energy majors and it is unlikely that OVL had a pre-bid understanding with them.

State-owned gas utility GAIL, which had bid for three blocks also drew a blank.

Cairn India, which was among the 61 firms pre-qualified to bid for 11 shallow-water and 19 deep-water blocks, did not bid by the December deadline.

Myanmar offered 11 shallow-water blocks, including three in the Rakhine offshore area, three in the Moattama offshore area and five in the Tanintharyi offshore area, but awarded only 10 of these.

A total of 19 deep-water blocks were offered in these areas and bids were received for only 10.