ONGC Videsh Acquires Stake in Azerbaijan Oil Field.

State-run ONGC Videsh (OVL) announced on Friday that it has signed a definitive sale purchase agreement to acquire a 0.615% participating interest (PI) in the Offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field in Azerbaijan from Equinor. The agreement also includes a 0.73% share of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company through its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC BTC.

These acquisitions, expected to be completed in the coming months, involve a total investment of up to $60 million. They add to ONGC Videsh’s existing 2.31% PI in the ACG field and 2.36% shareholding in the BTC pipeline.

The ACG field, a super-giant offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea, has been operated by BP since 1999. The field has been developed in phases, with the seventh production platform, Azeri Central East, commissioned in early 2024. Other partners in the field include SOCAR, MOL, INPEX, Exxon, Turkiye Petrolleri AO, and Itochu. The field’s contract term runs until December 31, 2049.

The BTC pipeline transports oil from the ACG field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, linking the Sangachal terminal on the Caspian Sea to the Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

OVL, India's largest international oil and gas E&P company, operates 32 assets in 15 countries. This acquisition aligns with its strategic objective of enhancing national energy security by adding high-quality international assets with equity oil to its portfolio.

In FY24, ONGC Videsh produced 10.518 MMtoe of oil and oil equivalent gas (O+OEG) and currently produces about 200,000 barrels of O+OEG per day. The company has total oil and gas reserves (2P) of about 476 MMtoe, while its parent company ONGC has 2P reserves of 704 MMtoe as of April 1, 2024

HBL