ONGC ready to rope in Petrobras, Statoil

Kolkata, July 15

Having set the stage to rope in Petrobras of Brazil and Statoil Hydro of Norway as strategic partners in its hydrocarbon rich KG-DWN-98/2 block in October 2007, ONGC is still waiting for the Union Government to approve the deal. Sources feel that the delay may impact the Indian oil and gas major’s plan to develop the KG asset on a fast track basis.

The foreign partners are expected to offer the much-needed technical and logistics support to ONGC in developing its first major discovery — that too in ultra-deepwater — in recent years and help explore the residual areas of the block In April this year, the management committee under the Petroleum Ministry allowed ONGC to go ahead with a programme aimed at establishing commerciality and developing the approximately 2-tcf hydrocarbon potential in UD1 discovery and explore the possibility of enhancing the reserve by way of further ultra-deepwater and deepwater drilling.

Though ONGC official sources claim that the company would not wait for the foreign partners to go ahead with the appraisal plan and would soon re-enter the UD1 discovery, sources told Business Line that the foreign partners were expected to play a vital role in devising the drilling strategies and even in sourcing suitable rigs.

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