OVL to buy US firm Anadarko’s stake in Mozambique gas field for $2.6 billion

Besides the acquisition price,OVL-OIL will have to pay their share of the field development cost and the LNG plant.

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) is likely to buy US energy major Anadarko Corps 10 per cent stake in a giant Mozambique gas field for $2.6 billion this week,the fourth acquisition by the state-owned firm in a year.

OVL,that stitched over $11 billion worth of deals since September last year,is likely to announce in a day or two the deal to buy Anadarkos 10 per cent stake in Mozambiques offshore Rovuma Area 1,sources said. Besides the acquisition price,OVL-OIL will have to pay their share of the field development cost and the LNG plant.

OVL will have to shell out an additional $1.5 billion as its share of the cost after the Anardako acquisition.

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The transaction is to close in the last quarter of 2013.

The company had on June 25 announced buying Videocons 10 per cent stake in the same field,which may hold as much as 65 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources,along with Oil India Ltd (OIL) for $2.475 billion.

Sources said unlike the June deal,OVL,the overseas arm of ONGC,will buy Anadarkos stake alone in what will be Indias second biggest overseas energy acquisition ever.

With under 8 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent output from its overseas assets,OVL currently makes up for 15 per cent of ONGC Group production of 60 million tonnes.