ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of India's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has bought UK-based Imperial Energy, which has oil producing assets in Russia, at a valuation of $3 per barrel of oil reserves
OVL can walkout of the estimated 1.3 billion ($1.9 billion) deal to acquire Imperial, which has oilfields in Russia, if less than 90 per cent of Imperial shareholders accept its offer of 12.50 pounds a share by Tuesday afternoon.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of the state explorer, Reliance, IOC and Oil India Ltd had in April this year come together to consider jointly bidding for a 40 per cent stake in a field in the vast Orinoco heavy crude oil belt. To make up for the loss of Reliance, OVL has opened talks with global energy firms and is even willing to take a smaller role in case a major company joins the consortium.
The government on Friday gave Oil and Natural Gas Corp and partners approval to invest $2.181 billion in a giant oilfield in Venezuela that will give energy deficient India 3.6 million tonnes a year of crude oil.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation R S Sharma are planning a visit to Russia in the first week of next month, hoping the Russian government would give its assent for the proposed acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy.
Imperial Energy, which operates in Siberia's Tomsk region and far eastern Kamchatka, has no strategic fields and deposits under its control, business channel RBC TV reported quoting sources in the natural resources and environment ministry. The London-based oil company owns a number of licences and hopes to produce 35,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2009 and 80,000 bpd by 2011, which could be directly exported to energy-hungry India.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh allowed ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, to invest $167.84 million in taking 8.35 per cent stake in the pipeline.
Iran had in September 2008 approved the commerciality of the discovery in the Farsi block. The discovery, which was subsequently named Farzad gas field, may hold inplace reserves of up to 21.68 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), of which recoverable reserves may be 12.8 Tcf. The Indian firm want to liquefy the gas and ship it to India in the form of liquefied natural gas.
In an effort to stem a possible counter-bid by China's Sinopec and others, ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas exploration subsidiary of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has through its advisor Deutsche Bank approached the large institutional investors of Imperial Energy to acquire their holdings.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is likely to invest $1.45 billion in an oil block in Iraq that was awarded to it by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime. The contract would be a service contract wherein OVL will be paid about 18 per cent rate of return on its investment.
The Indian firms want to liquefy the gas and ship it to India in the form of liquefied natural gas. OVL, which holds 40 per cent interest and is the operator of the block, has also submitted a feasibility report for the one billion barrel oil discovery it made in 2006.
Steel czar Lakshmi N Mittal is keen on selling half of his stake in a Kazakhstan oil field to state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd to tide over the severe financial constraint affecting his planned expansion in energy sector.
OVL in 2007-08 recorded highest ever oil and gas production from its overseas assets. Crude oil production was up 18 per cent to 6.811 million tons, while gas output was marginally lower at 1.962 billion cubic meters. It earned a net profit of Rs 2,397 crore (Rs 23.97 billion).
The Oil and Natural Gas Corp has deferred investments in Imperial Energy Plc to raise crude oil production and will rather consolidate the western Siberian operations of the UK-based firm it acquired recently.
In Mumbai, ONGC Chairman R S Sharma confirmed Mittal's pullout. OVL had anticipated such a move and had a few months back sought Cabinet approval to invest all of the $400 million in the Satpayev on its own in case Mittal walked out.
A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was specially convened this morning to consider OVL's Imperial bid, as Tuesday is the last date for making the offer to the target company's shareholders. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired the meeting that had just one agenda and lasted one-and-half hours, but no official word was available.
The fall in international oil prices notwithstanding, ONGC Videsh Ltd will not revise its pound 12.50 a share buyout of Imperial Energy Corp Plc as the acquisition priced UK-listed firm's in-place oil reserves at $2.5-3 per barrel.
Iraq has invited Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest oil refiner, to set up refineries in the war-torn country, and also participate in other downstream projects, a government statement said.
More than one oil company bidding for same overseas assets.
ONGC and the Hinduja group are lining up investment of close to $20 billion in exploration assets in Iran and a refinery and LNG terminal in India.
To raise funds for Imperial buy, create 'acquisition currency'.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Reliance Industries and Indian Oil Corp, the nation's biggest companies, are coming together for the first time, to bid jointly for a vast oilfield in Venezuela, which will require an investment of $16-18 billion.
ONGC Videsh Ltd has much riding on $150 million investment plans in gas and oil exploration that Petroleum Minister Murli Deora says is critical for India's energy security. But apart from this, Myanmar apparently offers rich potential in engineering, fertilisers, tourism and pharmaceuticals for the private sector.
Steel Authority of India Ltd, the country's largest steel company, plans to float an overseas subsidiary to pursue its foreign expansion.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is one of 41 global oil corporations shortlisted by the Iraq government to develop its oil fields. Iraq has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
Kazakhstan will give ONGC Videsh Ltd an oil block in the Caspian Sea.\n\n
The proposed India-Iran Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, which the two countries included in their joint New Delhi declaration in 2003, has run into a hurdle.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of India's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is planning to bid for a "few" of the 19 exploration blocks being offered under two bidding rounds by Iraq, which has the world's third-largest oil reserves.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has taken control of Imperial Energy after 96.8 per cent shareholders accept its takeover offer.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has offered Brazilian oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) a stake in its east coast blocks in exchange for getting a 15 per cent stake in a Brazilian exploration acerage.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, will make an offer to acquire shares of the United Kingdom-listed Imperial Energy Corp Plc at 12.50 pounds a share by December 9.
ONGC Videh, the overseas investment subsidiary of the country's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has won two onshore oil and gas exploration blocks in Colombia.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of India's largest oil producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is holding talks with the Iranian government for exploring an oil block in the northern part of the country. Chinese company Sinopec is also believed to be in the race for the block. This could not be independently confirmed. The block is near the Caspian Sea.
Reliance Industries Limited has hived-off its overseas oil and gas projects into a separate wholly-owned company based in Dubai and is eyeing a tie-up with ONGC Videsh Ltd to jointly bid for oil and gas opportunities abroad.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), will take a 40 per cent stake in San Cristobal oilfield in Venezuela.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has put in a bid to buy stake in a discovered oil block in Angola, after a consortium of two Chinese companies has already reported to have bid $1.5 billion last month, confirmed a top official of OVL on condition of anonymity.
India hopes to conclude the acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy in 4-5 weeks, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Friday. OVL is now awaiting approval of Kremlin to takeover the company, which has assets in Tomsk region of the western Siberia in Russia.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, announced that it has acquired 15 per cent in UK-listed Imperial Energy and formally launched a negotiated takeover bid for the company at $2.6 billion (equivalent to around Rs 11,500 crore), which the company's board has approved.
Though OVL has made a solo bid of about $2.5 billion for takeover of Russia-focused Imperial Energy, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation may rope in a company like Rosneft to win Moscow's approval for the acquisition, London-based investment banking sources said. OVL is mindful that no company can be successful in taking over a company having assets in Russia unless it has the backing of Moscow.
