Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep. 26 /Trend/
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is in talks to acquire more oil and gas blocks in Kazakhstan after losing a giant Caspian sea oil field deal to China National Petroleum Corp, The Economic Times reported.
"One failure does not mean we stop operations in the country completely," OVL Managing Director D K Sarraf told reporters here.
Kazakhstan had recently blocked OVL's $5 billion deal to buy a 8.4 per cent stake in its giant Kashagan oil field located in the Caspian Sea and instead transferred the interest to Chinese CNPC.
"We continue to be engaged in Kazakhstan. We are in the process of identification of more blocks at exploration and development stage (for acquisition)," he said.
Sarraf said OVL continues to hold 25 per cent stake in the Satpayev oil block of Kazakhstan.
Earlier ONGC Videsh acquired Hess Corporation's 2.7213 percent participating interest in the development project of Azeri Chirag Guneshli oil fields in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea and 2.36 percent interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. The transaction value was $1 billion.
Kazakhstan produced 79.211 million tons of oil and gas condensate in 2012. Natural gas production in this period hit 40.090 billion cubic meters. According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Kazakhstan's share in global oil production hit 2 percent in 2012. The country's proven oil reserves are estimated at 30 billion barrels, which amounts to 1.8 percent of global proven oil reserves.
/Edited by E. Kosolapova/