Bg Acquires Enron Oil For $350 Million

Global energy major British Gas Plc has signed a revised agreement to acquire Enron Oil & Gas India (EOGIL) from Enron Corp at $350 million.The earlier deal which was inked in October last year envisaged a price of $388 million for the acquisition. This agreement lapsed on December 31, 2001.

The fresh deal was signed in London yesterday. EOGIL owns a 30 per cent stake in the Panna, Mukta andTapti oil and gas fields in Gujarat and a 62 per cent stake in the CB-OS\1 exploration licence.

BG India, the Indian arm of the UK-based energy major, said in a media statement today that the earlier deal collapsed owing to delays following Enron filing for bankrupty under Chapter 11 in the US. The new deal has been reviewed by Enron's credit committee and is subject to a number of conditions, including the approval of the bankruptcy court. Enron is expected to file a motion with this court shortly and the transaction is expected to be closed by mid-February.

The other partners in the Indian oilfields are the Reliance group and the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC). Earlier, all three partners, British Gas, Reliance and ONGC, were seeking the operatorship rights of the field which at present vests with EOGIL.

Nigel Shaw, chief executive, BG India said,