New Delhi, April 13: ONGC Ltd and two other PSUs will invest about $6 billion over the next four years in developing a giant gas field off the Mozambique coast. The trio plan to liquefy the gas (LNG) for export to India and other countries.
"We have invested more than $6 billion so far (in the Mozambique field) and another $6 billion will be invested by 2019 to develop Rovuma Area-1 field," oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here today.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd and a unit of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) together hold 30 per cent interest in Rovuma Area-1, which is estimated to hold recoverable gas reserves of up to 75 trillion cubic feet.
Pradhan, who returned from a two-day visit to the African nation last night, said LNG would be shipped from 2018-end or early 2019.
The project with capacity to produce 20 million tonnes of LNG annually would be the world's largest LNG export site after ExxonMobil-run Ras Laffan in Qatar.
Pradhan said the block consortium was talking to Indian buyers like state gas utility GAIL for selling LNG.
"If it fetches more money (to us) by selling LNG then and there itself, we will opt for that. But if it is beneficial to bring the gas to India, we will certainly look at that option," he said.
Rovuma Area-1 lies along the coasts of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.
Pradhan said he had met Mozambique Prime Minister Agostino Rosario and foreign minister Oldemiro Baloi during his visit to the African country.
He also held discussions with his counterpart, minister of mineral resources and energy Pedro Couto.
"Rovuma Area-1 is the largest investment of India in any single hydrocarbon asset abroad," he said.
During the meetings, the two sides discussed all issues related to the existing investment as well as ways to expand the relationship in other areas of oil and gas.
"It was agreed that there is scope for expanding co-operation in several areas of mutual interest," he said.
OVL and Oil India Limited (OIL) in 2013 bought Videocon's 10 per cent stake in Rovuma for $2.5 billion.
It followed this up by acquiring another 10 per cent in the same field from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation of the US for $2.6 billion. OVL had paid for 60 per cent of Videocon's stake, while OIL paid the rest.
