Deal between Indian firms, Rosneft expected

A preliminary agreement on Indian oil and gas majors ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil Corporation, Oil India and Bharat PetroResources taking up 49.9% in Rosneft’s Vankor Cluster asset is expected in mid-October, a company official said on Wednesday.

Speaking to local media on the condition of anonymity, a top executive said the talks had reached an advanced stage and that a preliminary deal would be signed upon the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India on October 15. “The latest deal would be in the same pattern as the recently concluded deals between these Indian firms and Russia’s energy behemoth Rosneft,” the official was quoted as saying.

ONGC Videsh acquired a 26% stake in Rosneft’s Vankor field through two separate transactions this year. In June, Oil India, along with Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat PetroResources, reached an agreement for a 23.9% stake in the same oilfield.

No statements were made regarding the value of the deal for the Vankor Cluster, nor was information made available about the reserves of fields, which include both producing fields and fields under development.