$3.24-bn Rosneft deal gets the govt all-clear

A consortium of IOC, OIL and BPRL will acquire stakes in two Russian oilfields

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to a consortium of Indian Oil Corporation, Oil India and Bharat PetroResources for acquiring stakes in two Russian oilfields for around $3.24 billion.

The consortium will acquire 23.9 per cent stake in Vankorneft and 29.9 per cent stake in Taas-Yuryakh fields from Rosneft. Rosneft operates Vankor and Taas-Yuryakh oilfields.

The acquisition of stake in Vankorneft will provide 6.56 million metric tonne of oil equivalent (MMtoe) and 29.9 per cent stake in Taas-Yuryakh will provide 0.5 MMtoe initially and 1.5 MMtoe by 2019.

The purchase is in line with India’s objective of adding high quality international assets to its exploration and production portfolio, thereby augmenting the country’s energy security.
 

The consortium will be paying $2.02 billion for acquiring stake in Vankorneft and $1.24 billion for acquiring stake in Taas-Yuryakh. Earlier in May, ONGC Videsh - the overseas arm of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation - completed formalities of acquiring 15 per cent stake in Vankorneft at a price of $1.28 billion. 
 

The acquisition will add 8.06 MMtoe to India’s overseas oil and gas asset. It will also provide an opportunity to Indian public sector oil and gas companies to absorb newer technologies with Rosneft and British Petroleum (BP). BP had acquired 20 per cent stake in Taas-Yuryakh from Rosneft last year.