ONGC talking to RIL,others for Venezuelan bid

ONGC Videsh Ltd is talking to Reliance,IOC and Oil India to jointly bid for 40 per cent stake in fields in the vast Orinoco heavy crude oil belt.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC),Reliance Industries and Indian Oil Corp (IOC),the nation’s biggest companies,are stitching together an alliance to bid for developing a vast oilfield in Venezuela at a cost of USD 16-18 billion.

ONGC Videsh Ltd,the overseas arm of the state explorer,is talking to Reliance,IOC and Oil India to jointly bid for 40 per cent stake in fields in the vast Orinoco heavy crude oil belt.

“We are evaluating the three massive fields that are on offer and will decide on bidding shortly,” a top OVL official said in New Delhi.

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Venezuela is offering 40 per cent stake in massive projects in the Carabobo region of the Orinoco belt that would produce tar-like oil that would need to be upgraded into higher-quality synthetic crude. Its state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) will retain the remaining 60 per cent.

“The investment required is massive. The crude upgrade facility alone will cost USD 6-8 billion and so we are looking at partnership with other companies,” he said.

IOC may take 2.5 to 5 per cent stake while OIL has been assigned 2.5 per cent stake. The remaining 32.5-35 per cent will be split almost equally among OVL and Reliance.

Each of the three fields on offer can produce 200,000 to 400,000 barrels per day of oil (10-20 million tons a year).