ONGC Videsh, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corp engaged in overseas oil exploration and production, on Friday signed a definitive sale purchase agreement for directly acquiring 0.615% participating interest in the offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field in Azerbaijan from Equinor.
The agreement also includes acquiring 0.737% shares of the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company through its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC BTC Limited. “The acquisitions are expected to be completed in the upcoming months. Total investment for these acquisitions would be up to $60 million,” the company said.
These acquisitions are in addition to ONGC Videsh’s existing 2.31% PI in the ACG field and 2.36% shareholding in the BTC Pipeline.
ACG is a super-giant offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea operated by oil major BP since 1999. The field has been developed in phases and a seventh production platform, Azeri Central East, has been commissioned in early 2024.
The other partners in the field are SOCAR, MOL, INPEX, Exxon, Turkiye Petrolleri AO and Itochu.
The field has a contract term till December 31, 2049. Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline carries oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan,Georgia and Türkiye. It links Sangachal terminal on the shores of the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
OVL presently holds 32 assets in 15 countries.
“This acquisition is consistent with its strategic objective of energy security of the nation by adding high-quality international assets with equity oil to its existing portfolio,” the company said.
OVL produced 10.518 million tonne of oil equivalent during FY24 and currently produces about 200,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day.
“ONGC Videsh has total reserves (2P) of about 476 MMtoe whereas its parent, ONGC has 2P (proven and probable) reserves of 704 MMtoe as on 1 April 2024,” the company said.
The market capitalisation of ONGC stood at approximately `4,16,659 crore as on July 18. Equinor ASA is a global energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Equinor’s the portfolio of projects encompasses oil and gas, renewables and low-carbon solutions. With a holding 67%, the Norwegian state is the main shareholder in Equinor.
