Kuwait Petroleum to tie up with ONGC

Kuwait has expressed interest in picking up a stake in upcoming petrochemical projects of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) through Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). Other oil companies from the oil-rich West Asian country also plan to join hands with ONGC for oil blocks in India as well as other countries.

ONGC is setting up the petrochemical project through its joint venture ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL), where it holds 26 per cent. Gas utility GAIL holds 19 per cent and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) five per cent. The rest 50 per cent is to be offered to strategic investors and financial institutions that are yet to be identified. The project is being targeted for completion in early 2013.

In fact, ONGC is constructing two joint venture petrochemical plants. OpaL is setting up a Rs 19,500-crore mega petrochemical project at Dahej, Gujarat, and ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL) is building a plant at Mangalore.

“Kuwait is interested in acquiring stakes in ONGC’s two joint venture petrochemical projects,” ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma told reporters here after a meeting between representatives of the two countries.

KPC’s participation in OMPL, the firm building a Rs 5,750-crore aromatic complex within the Mangalore Special Economic Zone by the end of 2012, was also discussed. ONGC has a 46 per cent stake in OMPL and its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery another three per cent, while the rest 51 per cent is yet to be tied up.

Interested in Nelp-IX, too
Kuwaiti oil companies may also join hands with ONGC for the upcoming ninth round of oil and gas blocks auction in India (Nelp-IX) and also look at opportunities in third countries.

“Search for opportunities will not be confined to India but to third countries as well,” Kuwait’s Oil Minister, Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, said after a meeting with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.

The minister told reporters additional crude supplies have been sought, particularly for the long term, from Kuwait. India currently buys 11.8 million tonnes of crude a year from the West Asian country. However, the Kuwaiti Oil Minister said: “We are OPEC members. We cannot increase production as per our wish. It will depend on future development.”