India’S Ongc to construct product pipeline in Sudan

CHENNAI, Nov 19, 2003 (AsiaPulse) — India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (BSE:ONGC) has signed an agreement with the Sudanese government to construct a pipeline and revamp a refinery at a cost of US$750 million, a top company official said.

The pipeline construction from Khartoum to the Port of Sudan, covering a distance of about 1000 km, would be undertaken on a BOT basis, while the small refinery at the port would be revamped and expanded on contract basis, chairman and managing director of ONGC Subir Raha said.

“This is the largest ever service contract by an Indian company,” Raha said, adding that the detail feasibility report was being worked out for revamp, while the report on product pipeline laying was ready. The MoU was signed recently, he said.

On other overseas projects being undertaken by the ONGC, Raha said an ONGC team recently visited Iran, where the corporation was looking for a major business opportunity. The project would cover LNG production and “upstream opportunities”.

The corporation was targeting 30 million tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas production from deep waters by the end of the 11th plan, equal to the current domestic production.