ONGC's overseas arm ONGC Videsh ltd (OVl) along with Oil India ltd (OIl) is in talks with US' Anadarko Petroleum Corp for buying its 10 per cent stake in Mozambique's giant Rovuma - 1 gas field, and if the negotiations are successful then the state-owned consortium may end up with a whopping 20 per cent share in the reserve which has the potential to become one of the world's largest lNG producing areas by 2018.
According to highly placed Government sources privy to the development, both OVl-OIl have been in “constant touch” with Anadarko and India is “quite optimistic” about clinching the stake purchase from the US company which is also the operator of the Rovuma field project. OVl-OIl last month had successfully finalised the deal to buy Videocon Industries' 10 per cent stake in the same field.
Government's confidence in pulling off Anadarko's stake buy in Rovuma field stems from the fact that New Delhi is likely to make an attractive offer to the US entity, which sources added could be on the lines of the Videocon deal.
The deal, if successful, would come as more than an adequate compensation for the recent setback faced by New Delhi, when Kazakhstan Government earlier this month blocked OVl's bid to buy the American company ConocoPhillips' 8.4 per cent stake in that nation's Kashagan oil field.
OVl-OIl have one month's time for seeking Mozambique Government's regulatory approval as well as the no-objection nod from all the other partners in the Rovuma - 1 field for their Videocon's share acquisition, and this time span comes to an end in the second week of August.
Sources privy to the development told The Pioneer that Government is confident that talks for buying Anadarko's 10 per cent stake would be wrapped up much before the end of this month and that they would be successful.
Moreover, they added that New Delhi sees no problems in Mozambique Government and other partners in Rovuma gas field, giving their approval to OVl-OIl's Videocon stake buy, considering the fact that both the nations not only share excellent diplomatic relations, but India on its part has expressed keenness in expanding its energy sector-related collaboration with the South-east African nation.
If both these developments go in India's favour, then OVl-OIl owning a 20 per cent stake in Rovuma - 1 gas field in a few months' time could well become an eventuality.
Anadarko has been keen to sell of its stake in the Rovuma gas fields since quite some time and several entities have been showing interest in it. In case OVl-OIl clinch the deal, then it would a shot in the arm for it.Apart from Anadarko, the other partners in the Rovuma - 1 gas field include ENH, Mitsui, BPCl and PTTEP.
While the Videocon's stake has been taken by the OVl-OIl consortium for $ 2.48 bln, sources said that Anadarko acquisition deal could be “slightly more attractive”.
Rovuma field is estimated to hold as much as 65 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of in place gas reserves, more than 10 times the reserves in Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 fields.