NEW DELHI: OVL (ONGC Videsh), an overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, is in talks with the Venezuelan government for proprietorship rights of two of its projects in Venezuela, said a top official of OVL.
The company is in discussions to retrieve the remaining $600 million dividend stuck in the country. “We have taken crude in lieu of dividends, sometime back... We are in advanced talks with the Government of Venezuela to obtain further dividends and proprietorship of the two projects that we have there to increase production,” said Rajarshi Gupta, managing director of OVL.
OVL holds a 40% stake in the San Cristobal field located in eastern Venezuela’s Orinoco Heavy Oil belt, while Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) holds the remaining stake. In October 2023, the US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil. The sanctions were initially imposed to penalize Maduro’s government following his contested re-election in 2018.
India last imported Venezuelan crude in 2020 when the US imposed secondary sanctions on the country. The US enforced severe sanctions on Venezuela to penalise Maduro’s government following his contested re-election in 2018.
Gupta also mentioned that the company will require further investment to initiate the project; however, he did not provide any details about the amount of investment. Regarding the project in Mozambique, he stated that LNG production will commence in the first quarter of this fiscal year.
OIL seeks tech partner for Andaman project
NEW DELHI: State-owned Oil India Limited (OIL) is scouting for a technology partner to start its offshore drilling project in Andamans. According to Harish Madhav, Director of Finance at Oil India Limited, the company has allocated `1500 crore to `2000 crore for the project, and soon the company will hold a roadshow in the UAE. The company has two shallow-water blocks in Andamans, AN- OSHP-2018/1 and AN-OSHP-2018/2, which it won in third open acreage licensing policy (OALP) round. It has identified the rigs, but due to a lack of a technology partner, it has yet to start exploration process.