Eyes expansion in North America
Keen to expand its presence in the oil and gas sector in North America, India is all set to initiate talks with Canada for exploring business with that country and this would be the main focus point when a delegation led by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia would be meeting top Canadian Government officials during his two-day visit to that country between October 28 and 29.
According to official sources, Ahluwalia would be holding talks with Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver under the aegis of the first-ever India-Canada Energy Dialogue which would take place at Ottawa on October 28, aimed at establishing the country’s presence there in the oil and gas sector.
The delegation led by Ahluwalia includes senior officials of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry and representatives of the state-owned oil companies.
Officials privy to the development said that while there are no set terms of reference (TOR) for the impending Dialogue, the focus is likely to be on marking India’s presence in the oil and gas map of Canada.
Though ONGC’s overseas arm ONGC Videsh ltd (OVl) has presence in several oil and gas blocks situated in Central and Southern America, it has no participation at all in any oil or gas fields in North America - consisting of Canada and the USA.The focus of the Dialogue therefore, sources informed The Pioneer, would be on scouting at business opportunities in Canada.
Industry sources said that having established itself in Central and South America, OVl is bullish in the North American region and wants to aggressively scout for substantial business opportunities in Canada as well as in the US, which can later translate into participation in oil and gas blocks situated there.
OVl sources said that they would look at the cost and economics of the business opportunities available in Canada before finalising any deal.
Currently OVl has an office in Canada and it plans to keep that country as a base while scouting for opportunities there as well as in the US.
The Indo-Canadian Energy Dialogue is being described by Government sources as a trigger point for enhancing cooperation in the energy sector with that country, which would pave the way for future exploration in the entire North American continent.
This would be the first ever discussion between the two countries focussing on the energy sector and incidentally it is being held close on the heels of the Canadian Minister Oliver having just concluded his tour to China where he met senior officials of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), apart from holding meetings with top Government functionaries of that country.
Oliver earlier this month had been on an economic mission to China and South Korea to promote energy cooperation, and signed several important pacts with both the nations pertaining to the sector.
China, which apart from being an assertive power in the Southeast Asian region, is also India’s arch rival in various significant sectors and therefore the India-Canada Dialogue assumes significance in the light of the fact that it is being held at an opportune time when New Delhi is keen on establishing itself in North America.