India’s cabinet gives go-ahead to acquire stakes in two Sudanese oil blocks

NEW DELHI, Aug 23 (AFP) — India’s cabinet has given the go-ahead to a state-run oil firm to acquire stakes in two oil blocks in Sudan from the Austrian company OMV, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday.

“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has cleared … (the) acquisition of 26.125 percent stake in exploration block 5A and 24.5 per cent stake in block 5B from Austria’s OMV,” the news agency said quoting an official.

Financial terms of the deal with India’s ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, were not disclosed.

Block 5A, with reserves of 149.1 million barrels in Sudan’s Muglad basin, is operated by a subsidiary of Malaysia’s national oil firm Petronas. The Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd has a 68.875 percent stake in the block, the Press Trust of India said.

Petronas holds a 41 percent stake in Block 5B, which has estimated reserves of between 0.5 and one billion barrels. Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum AB holds 24. 5 percent, with another 24.5 percent being sold by Austria’s OMV to the Indian firm.

India’s OVL already has a 25 percent stake in Sudan’s Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company that it bought for 750 million dollars from Talisman Energy of Canada in March.

Talisman’s general manager Jim Buckee said it sold its stake to the Indian firm under pressure from Washington, which was threatening to exclude the Canadian company from US markets.

US law calls for sanctions to be imposed on Sudan if Khartoum is not judged to be negotiating in good faith with rebels to end its 20-year civil war.

OVL is entitled to three million metric tonnes of crude oil each year from the Greater Nile investment, worth 25 billion rupees (512 million dollars) at current prices, according to the company’s website.

OVL has also pursued exploration of oil or gas in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.