ID :
144866
Tue, 10/05/2010 - 12:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/144866
The shortlink copeid
BP may not sell stake in Vietnam gas project to ONGC
New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) In a setback to Oil and Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC), UK's energy giant BP Plc Monday said the
company will offer its stake in a gas project in Vietnam to an
affiliate firm first.
BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley, who took
over from Tony Hayward last Friday, was in India Monday
meeting
partners Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Ratan Tata
of Tata Group in Mumbai and Oil Minister Murli Deora here.
Flanked by Hayward, Dudley said BP was yet to decide on
selling its stake in the USD 1.3 billion Nam Con Son gas
project in Vietnam. But it was to do so as part of effort to
raise finances for meeting the Gulf of Mexico oil spill
liability, BP will first offer the stake to its affiliate.
If BP decides in favour of exiting Vietnam, "we may
transfer (the Vietnam stake) to an affiliate," he said.
TNK-BP, BP's Russian joint venture, will make an offer to
buy BP's stake the offshore natural-gas project in Vietnam.
Asked if TNK-BP may be a possible buyer, he said: "That
is an affiliate company and that is a possibility".
Dudley said that his meetings with Ambani and Tata were
to review on-going projects that BP has with the two
companies.
BP and Reliance Industries had won a deep-sea block (D17)
in 7th round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) where
the two firms are planning to shoot seismic before deciding on
drilling wells.
With Tata, BP has a solar project in Bangalore which was
reviewed in meeting with Ratan Tata, he said.
The new BP CEO, who had a late dinner meeting with top
government officials at Deora's residence, will meet Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow morning.
OVL, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and
Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is keen on buying BP's 35 per cent
stake in the Nam Con Son gas project in Vietnam.
It had even roped in Vietnam's PetroVietnam for buying
BP's stake in two offshore gas fields, a pipeline and power
project -- together referred to as Nam Con Son. But new BP
CEO's statement will be a setback to its plans.
Block 06.1, where the Lan Tay and Lan To fields currently
produce about 14 million cubic metres of gas per day, was
originally allocated to OVL, but due to the foreign exchange
crisis of the 1990s, it had to farm-out some of its stake to
BP. OVL has a 45 per cent stake in Block 06.1, where the
balance 20 per cent is with PetroVietnam.
The Nam Con Son project's upstream part is Block 06.1,
located 370 km South–East of Vung Tau on the southern
Vietnamese coast. The 955 sq km block holds the Lan Tay and
Lan To gas fields.
OVL has so far invested USD 217 million on the gas fields
and has government approval to invest up to USD 377.46
million
Gas Corp (ONGC), UK's energy giant BP Plc Monday said the
company will offer its stake in a gas project in Vietnam to an
affiliate firm first.
BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley, who took
over from Tony Hayward last Friday, was in India Monday
meeting
partners Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Ratan Tata
of Tata Group in Mumbai and Oil Minister Murli Deora here.
Flanked by Hayward, Dudley said BP was yet to decide on
selling its stake in the USD 1.3 billion Nam Con Son gas
project in Vietnam. But it was to do so as part of effort to
raise finances for meeting the Gulf of Mexico oil spill
liability, BP will first offer the stake to its affiliate.
If BP decides in favour of exiting Vietnam, "we may
transfer (the Vietnam stake) to an affiliate," he said.
TNK-BP, BP's Russian joint venture, will make an offer to
buy BP's stake the offshore natural-gas project in Vietnam.
Asked if TNK-BP may be a possible buyer, he said: "That
is an affiliate company and that is a possibility".
Dudley said that his meetings with Ambani and Tata were
to review on-going projects that BP has with the two
companies.
BP and Reliance Industries had won a deep-sea block (D17)
in 7th round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) where
the two firms are planning to shoot seismic before deciding on
drilling wells.
With Tata, BP has a solar project in Bangalore which was
reviewed in meeting with Ratan Tata, he said.
The new BP CEO, who had a late dinner meeting with top
government officials at Deora's residence, will meet Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow morning.
OVL, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and
Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is keen on buying BP's 35 per cent
stake in the Nam Con Son gas project in Vietnam.
It had even roped in Vietnam's PetroVietnam for buying
BP's stake in two offshore gas fields, a pipeline and power
project -- together referred to as Nam Con Son. But new BP
CEO's statement will be a setback to its plans.
Block 06.1, where the Lan Tay and Lan To fields currently
produce about 14 million cubic metres of gas per day, was
originally allocated to OVL, but due to the foreign exchange
crisis of the 1990s, it had to farm-out some of its stake to
BP. OVL has a 45 per cent stake in Block 06.1, where the
balance 20 per cent is with PetroVietnam.
The Nam Con Son project's upstream part is Block 06.1,
located 370 km South–East of Vung Tau on the southern
Vietnamese coast. The 955 sq km block holds the Lan Tay and
Lan To gas fields.
OVL has so far invested USD 217 million on the gas fields
and has government approval to invest up to USD 377.46
million
