New Delhi, April 14: Reliance Industries (RIL) is in talks with global oil companies such as Chevron, Shell, Exxon, and BG for a stake sale in its Krishna Godavari gasfield.
The company could sell 10 per cent in the block, industry sources said.
RIL is planning to hive off the block into a separate subsidiary to involve a strategic partner having deep sea exploration and production technology. The Mukesh Ambani-promoted company has appointed Goldman Sachs as the adviser to the possible stake sale, which is likely to happen after the block is hived off into a special purpose vehicle.
Analysts said it was unlikely that the company would sell the stake now when the block was about to start production.
RIL holds a 90 per cent stake in the block and Canadian company Niko Resources has the remaining 10 per cent.
The two companies won the block in the first round of the government’s New Exploration and Licensing Policy in 2000. The company will begin the production of 20 million cubic metres per day (mcmd) of gas from the block later this year. Within a year of production, the output will go up to 80mcmd, which is equal to the current gas availability in the country.
ONGC Videsh
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, is among 35 global firms which have qualified to bid for oil and gas contracts in Iraq, a company official said.
ONGC Videsh is the only Indian company that the Iraqi government has found eligible to bid for the contracts, the official said.
The list contains four Chinese firms — China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinochem and Sinopec Group. It also names seven energy majors from the US, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon and Occidental Petroleum.
BG Group of the UK, Eni of Italy, Inpex of Japan, Korea Gas Corporation, Lukoil of Russia, BHP Billiton and Woodside of Australia and Mitsubishi Corp of Japan are among those to be selected. Petronas of Malaysia, Pertamina of Indonesia, Repsol of Spain, Shell, Statoil Hydro of Norway and Total of France have also qualified for bidding.
The official said 120 companies had applied for the first round of licensing in Iraq after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Reliance Industries did not participate in the qualifying round after Baghdad threatened to blacklist the company because it had signed contracts for two oil blocks with the Kurdistan Regional Government.
