ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas extension of state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has now acquired the rights to bid for oil and natural gas development projects in Iran.
OVL is amongst the 29 international oil companies from the numerous countries that Iran has pre-qualified to bid in the upcoming tender for oil and gas projects, according to the list released by National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC).
Others on the list include China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA of France, Eni of Italy and Russia’s Gazprom.
Iran, the holder of world’s 4th largest oil reserves and OPEC’s 3rd largest oil producer, is expecting to attract as much as USD 150 billion in foreign investment in its oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors over the subsequent few years.
The list of pre-qualified firms also include Russia’s Lukoil, Malaysia’s Petronas, China’s CNOOC and Sinopec, KOGAS of Korea and Inpex of Japan. Most of these companies have been involved in Iran’s oil industry projects before the US- tailored sanctions were imposed against the country in 2011.
Some of the newcomers include Maersk from Finland, Wintershall from Germany, DNO from Norway and CEPSA from Spain, according to the NIOC list.
OVL(ONGC Videsh Ltd.) is already present in Iran. In 2008, it had discovered the Farzad-B gas field in the Farsi block in the Persian Gulf. The discovery has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 trillion cubic feet, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable.
ONGC Aquires Rights to Bid for NIOC
