OVL Gets Nod to Buy Stake in Azeri Oil, Gas Field

India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday gave approval to authorize ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) to acquire Hess Corporation’s 2.7 percent stake in the Azeri Chirag Guneshli (ACG) oil and gas field in Azerbaijan. The company also got approval to buy 2.36 percent stake in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline for an investment of little over $1 billion.

The CCE also authorised OVL to incur expenses so as to keep the total exposure up to the approved amount of $1.001 billion at all times, a government statement issued here said.

The acquisition shall provide OVL, oil production of about 1 Million Ton per year for about a decade. In addition to oil revenue, the investment would enable OVL to enter into Azerbaijan, which is rapidly emerging into a strategically important country in the CIS region, the government said.

Acquiring a stake in the strategic BTC pipeline would provide OVL the opportunity to enhance its portfolio around the region and transport crude from future assets, which the company may acquire in the Caspian Sea in the future.