OIL, IOC signs pact for oil exploration in Yemen

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil-Oil India combine and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp have signed agreements for exploring oil and gas in five blocks in Yemen.

OIL-IOC combine along with its foreign collaborators Medco Energy and Kuwait Energy Company signed contracts for Blocks 82 and 83 while GSPC and its partners Jubilant Enpro and Alkor Petro signed pacts for Blocks 19, 28 and 57, an official press statement said here.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Yemeni Minister of Oil and Minerals Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Oil of Yemen expressed great optimism in the Indian oil companies and said that he looks forward to the companies starting their operations in Yemen in the near future.

The agreements signed would go for ratification by the Yemen Parliament and then eventually would be sent for the signature of the President of Yemen. This process is expected to take about two months or so.

Thereafter, the agreements will become operational and the work on exploration and prospecting of hydrocarbon is expected to commence during 2008 itself.

It may be recalled that in December 2006, seven oil blocks were allotted to different Indian companies: 82 and 83 to OIL-IOC; 19, 28 and 57 to GSPC-Jubilant-Alkor and 34 & 37 to the combine of Reliance Industries and Hayel Saeed Group of Yemen.

Reliance signed agreements for Block 34 and 17 in November last year and is awaiting ratification of the Yemeni Parliament.