ONGC Mittal to Spend $2 Billion to Find Nigerian Oil
ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd., a joint venture between billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and India's biggest oil explorer, plans to invest as much as $2 billion to explore for oil in Nigeria.
India won the rights to drill in Nigeria in return for assurances of investments in refineries and power plants in the African nation, R.S. Sharma, chairman of Oil & Natural Gas Corp., said in an interview in New Delhi today.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has granted first right of refusal on oil drilling rights to companies willing to invest in the nation's infrastructure. China has agreed to spend $2 billion on projects, including the Kaduna refinery in the north of the West African nation.
``We are doing what the Chinese companies have been doing in developing the infrastructure in countries that are rich in hydrocarbon deposits,'' Sharma said.
China and India, which consume 11 percent of global oil production, need energy supplies to sustain the fastest growth among the world's 20 biggest economies. Energy takeovers announced by the two countries more than doubled last year to $16.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Indian companies have pledged as much as $6 billion for infrastructure projects including a high-speed railroad between Lagos, the nation's biggest city, and Abuja, the capital.
Linked to Finds
The investments in infrastructure in Nigeria are linked to successful oil finds, Sharma said. ONGC Mittal would put in additional investments in a power plant and a refinery in case the fields allocated to the company yield oil, he said.
ONGC Mittal in May won two deep-water oil blocks for a total of $125 million in signing bonuses.
Oil & Natural Gas is acquiring overseas assets to meet the nation's growing fuel demand. India, which imports 70 percent of its crude oil, needs to secure energy supplies as refiners expand capacity and domestic output from aging fields stagnate.
Sharma declined to say when production may start in the Nigerian oil fields or give estimates of oil reserves in the fields.
Oil & Natural Gas and Mittal, founder of the world's biggest steelmaker, Mittal Steel Co., agreed in July last year to set up a joint venture company to bid jointly for oil, gas and refinery assets overseas.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and the fifth- largest supplier to the U.S.
ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd., a joint venture between billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and India's biggest oil explorer, plans to invest as much as $2 billion to explore for oil in Nigeria.
India won the rights to drill in Nigeria in return for assurances of investments in refineries and power plants in the African nation, R.S. Sharma, chairman of Oil & Natural Gas Corp., said in an interview in New Delhi today.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has granted first right of refusal on oil drilling rights to companies willing to invest in the nation's infrastructure. China has agreed to spend $2 billion on projects, including the Kaduna refinery in the north of the West African nation.
``We are doing what the Chinese companies have been doing in developing the infrastructure in countries that are rich in hydrocarbon deposits,'' Sharma said.
China and India, which consume 11 percent of global oil production, need energy supplies to sustain the fastest growth among the world's 20 biggest economies. Energy takeovers announced by the two countries more than doubled last year to $16.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Indian companies have pledged as much as $6 billion for infrastructure projects including a high-speed railroad between Lagos, the nation's biggest city, and Abuja, the capital.
Linked to Finds
The investments in infrastructure in Nigeria are linked to successful oil finds, Sharma said. ONGC Mittal would put in additional investments in a power plant and a refinery in case the fields allocated to the company yield oil, he said.
ONGC Mittal in May won two deep-water oil blocks for a total of $125 million in signing bonuses.
Oil & Natural Gas is acquiring overseas assets to meet the nation's growing fuel demand. India, which imports 70 percent of its crude oil, needs to secure energy supplies as refiners expand capacity and domestic output from aging fields stagnate.
Sharma declined to say when production may start in the Nigerian oil fields or give estimates of oil reserves in the fields.
Oil & Natural Gas and Mittal, founder of the world's biggest steelmaker, Mittal Steel Co., agreed in July last year to set up a joint venture company to bid jointly for oil, gas and refinery assets overseas.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and the fifth- largest supplier to the U.S.