Oil India has discovered natural gas reserves off the Andaman Islands, the state-owned firm said without putting an estimate of the size of the find. In a statement, OIL said "occurrence of natural gas" was reported in the second exploratory well Vijayapuram-2 drilled in the Offshore Andaman Block AN-OSHP-2018/1, which the company had won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
In a significant move, state-run oil producer Oil India Limited (OIL) has finished drilling its first well in the Andaman sea while Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has just started drilling operations in the area, said officials.
Videocon Industries on Tuesday said a well drilled to confirm an oil discovery in its Brazilian offshore block has struck 200 feet of high-quality hydrocarbon zone.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
The government on Tuesday proposed to launch a mission to give fillip to the domestic output of critical minerals like copper and lithium, their recycling as well as acquisition of such assets abroad. Presenting Union Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the government will launch the auction of the first round of offshore mining blocks.
Global supermajor BP Plc's exclusivity with Reliance Industries Ltd has ended but the energy giant will continue to pursue oil and gas as well as mobility ventures in India with the Mukesh Ambani firm owing to an unwritten strategic partnership, BP's outgoing India head Sashi Mukundan said. BP in 2011 spent $7.2 billion to acquire 30 per cent interest in 23 oil and gas blocks of Reliance. Eastern offshore KG-D6 block was the cornerstone of the deal that also provided for a 10-year exclusivity period which meant that BP would take up energy projects or investments in India only in partnership with Reliance.
Maiki South Mining Pvt Ltd has bagged the country's first lithium block in Chhattisgarh that was put up for sale, the government said on Monday. Meanwhile, the government cancelled the auction of 14 critical minerals that were on offer in the second round of auction. The Katghora lithium and rare earth elements (REE) block in Chhattisgarh was awarded to the company at an auction premium of 76.05 per cent.
In a step towards diversifying its resource base and securing green energy minerals, India is poised to launch its first-ever offshore mineral auction in the first quarter of 2024, announced Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi during the launch event of the National Geoscience Data Repository portal. The government plans to hold auctions in March, offering 10-15 blocks for bidding. Meanwhile, the ministry of mines is currently developing rules and regulations for offshore mining.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp and GAIL (India) Ltd's equity in two gas rich offshore blocks in Myanmar have been cut following Myanmar's national oil company exercising its 'step-in' rights in the fields, gas from where will be sold to China.
Reliance Industries Ltd, along with its partner British Petroleum, plans to invest about Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) to carry out exploratory drilling in an offshore block in the Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu coast.
Energy supermajor Exxon Mobil Corp is in talks to buy a stake in producing oil and gas fields in India, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday showcasing efforts to raise domestic output to cut imports. Exxon Mobil had in October last year signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to offer its expertise and technology for developing resources in offshore blocks.
ONGC Videsh Ltd and its partners Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd had in 2009 dropped plans to develop the Binaloud oil find in the Farsi offshore block as it found one billion barrels of reserves commercially unviable.
Though Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation officials term it a case of mismanagement, the 'dubious' deal has raised many questions.
ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd -- joint venture of ONGC Videsh Ltd and Mittal Investment Sarl -- had in 2007 won the offshore block North Coast Marine Area-2 (NCMA-2), that is estimated to hold in-place reserves of two trillion cubic feet, beating Britain's Centrica Plc.
ONGC Videsh Ltd and its partners Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd have dropped plans to develop an oil field in Iran after the discovery was found to be commercially unviable.
Government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the country's largest petro exploration company, wants to hire an ultra deep-sea drill rig, the daily cost of which is about Rs 5 crore.
Valuers have found almost no assets to pay for their claims against the Videocon group that entered the insolvency process in 2018. But the dissenters suggest that the money is elsewhere, possibly in the group's oil and gas assets, which are not part of the group's bankruptcy case.
They have been named for their stake in the Farsi offshore block.
Oil India chief reveals plans of the upcoming IPO and future investment strategies.
China has pipped India to sign a 30-year agreement to import natural gas from fields lying in Myanmar offshore where India's state-owned companies have 25 per cent stake.
Launching a major global initiative for attracting foreign investment in the hydrocarbon sector, India on Monday held a roadshow in London for auctioning 55 oil and gas exploration blocks.
In all, Reliance has a stake in 34 exploration blocks in the country.
The country's second-largest government-owned oil and gas exploration company Oil India has qualified as a non-operator in the latest round of oil blocks auction in Libya.
Reliance Industries clarifies on news item
After the euphoria over the recent oil and gas discoveries made by upstream behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
IOC-OIL have decided to hold 25% stake in RIL's East Timor oil and gas block.
Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, has signed contract for Block 41. The block lies adjacent to Block 18 in Gulf of Oman, which the Government of Sultanate of Oman awarded to RIL in 2005. Block 18 is situated in the offshore Gulf of Oman between Block 41 and the border with the Fujuriah offshore block. The two blocks comprises approximately 21,000 sq km of area each.
In an attempt to hold on to its exploration blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is in talks with British Gas (BG) and British Petroleum (BP) for joint exploration in four offshore blocks in the region.
Essar Energy Holdings, a part of the Essar group, has acquired an oil and gas exploration block in Nigeria in the latest round of bidding. The shallow offshore block is completely owned by Essar Energy.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has made a big natural gas discovery in Iran with in-place reserves being estimated at around 10 trillion cubic feet.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has signed the production sharing contracts with Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) for two offshore blocks in Phu Khanh Basin.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has begun drilling for oil in Farshi offshore block of Iran.
India is likely to intensify diplomatic efforts with Angola to secure clearance for ONGC Videsh Ltd's acquisition of 50 per cent interest in an oil field in the oil-rich African country.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, said on Thursday that it will acquire Anglo Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell's entire 50 per cent stake in an oil block in Angola for about $600 million.
French oil giant TotalFinaElf has offered Oil and Natural Gas Corporation stake in its Azerbaijan and Barbados oil blocks in return of equity in the Indian oil firms' three offshore blocks.
Hindustan Oil Exploration Company on Friday said it was in talks with British oil and gas major BG Group for buying its 62.64 per cent stake in Gujarat offshore block CB-OS/1, senior company official said in New Delhi.
Iran's growing proximity to China may have also played a part.
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