Shell, ONGC Talk India Opportunities

Royal Dutch Shell and Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) have been in talks about potential opportunities in India as the British firms seeks to expand its presence in India, Dow Jones newswire reported. 

Executives at ONGC said they were in the process of agreeing a long-term alliance to jointly explore oil and gas production and were looking at both existing and new projects, but added that it was too early to say what form a potential tie-up will take, Dow Jones added.

If talks between Shell and ONGC are successful, it would mark Shell's return to exploration in India some 16 years after it sold its 50% stake in Rajasthan assets to Cairn for $7.5 million. 

In India, Shell currently has a small retail presence and is involved in developing a liquefied natural gas import and regasification terminal at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.