State-run ONGC Videsh, the overseas operations arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, is looking to invest in the LNG and upstream assets in the US, the company’s managing director Rajarshi Gupta said on Tuesday. He added that the company is scouting for more greenfield and brownfield assets in several other geographies, including Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
OVL Expands Global Energy Hunt
“We are looking at the US also for other LNG and upstream connections where we can look to invest plus other countries which are coming into the market as more and more LNG players come to deliver in the market,” Gupta said at the third energy summit of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
“We are looking for the right assets in the US. We have three projects in Russia but we are also looking at other geographies,” he said, while naming Latin America, and Africa, which he said “has huge potential” being rich in minerals.
“We are looking at all options. As the government said, we will source our energy for our citizens where it is feasible, practical, and at the right price…,” Gupta said.
The statement comes at a time when India is facing 50% tariffs from the US on its purchases of Russian oil. The country is also focusing on enhancing its exploration and production of natural gas and oil, domestically and internationally, amid rising geopolitical uncertainties.
The company is also expecting the force majeure on its offshore LNG project in Mozambique to be removed shortly.
Mozambique LNG Project Nears Restart
ONGC Videsh holds a 10% stake in the “Offshore Area 1 LNG” project with a cost of $20 billion. The project has been under force majeure since April 2021 following attacks by Islamic State terrorists in Northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. However, the company expects the force majeure to be removed soon and start gas production from the project in the next three years.
On the domestic production front, Gupta said, “We are drilling now in Andaman and eastern offshore and the petroleum system has been established. So the next big discoveries could be there.”
Apart from enhancing its portfolio, OVL’s parent company ONGC is planning to establish a new unit for trading crude oil, refined products and natural gas for its group companies.
“We have created a commodity trading group at ONGC exclusively for trading. We do see in the near future trading will be required for India. ONGC Group has 100 million tonnes of buying and selling of oil and gas,” Gupta said.