India will get three million tones of crude oil annually from a Sudan oil field where ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has acquired 25 per cent stake of Canadian Talisman Energy Inc.

"In the first ever acquisition of a large production field by India overseas, OVL has acquired 25 per cent stake in Greater Nile Oil Project, Sudan by acquiring 100 per cent ownership of Talisman Greater Nile BV," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told reporters.

OVL in-effect paid Talisman $669 million, about $50 million than the $720 million acquisition price.

"We were entitled to receive all revenues accruing to Talisman in the project commencing September 1, 2002, the day we signed the deal to acquire the Canadian company's stake. Since the payment wasn't made, we paid them an interest rate linked to Libor. The net of revenue and the interest outgo, saved us $50 million," OVL chairman Subir Raha said.

OVL would take over all the 80-odd employees of Talisman to step into the Canadian firm's job of managing the 1,500-km pipeline connecting the producing fields to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

ONGC, which has already put in place a team under A K Mehra to take over Talisman Energy's operations, is exploring shipping the light crude oil produced from the Sudan field for processing at its latest acquisition Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Raha said.