ONGC and Mubadala of UAE to jointly invest in oil exploration

NEW DELHI: State-run oil company ONGC and United Arab Emirates’ investment firm Mubadala may jointly invest in upstream projects in third countries, an oil ministry statement said after a bilateral meeting between Oil Minister Veerappa Moily and UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohhamed Al Mazrouei.

“The visiting minister showed keen interest in the proposal and asked that both the companies should soon meet to arrive at specific focus countries,” the statement said. The UAE minister was attending Petrotech conference here on Monday.

The visiting UAE delegates also took interest in Hindustan Petroleum Corp’s upcoming refinery-cum petrochemical projects in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, it said.

Moily also met Libyan Oil & Gas Minister, Dr Abdulbari A. Arousi and discussed the possibility of importing more crude oil from the country. The Libyan minister has assured to consider this request and emphasized that Libya was keen to increase cooperation with India, it said.

Moily also met visiting Premier of Alberta, Canada, Ms Alison M Redford and discussed various areas of cooperation with Alberta. Alberta is keen about investments by India oil companies, the premier said. She offered India to utilize their expertise in the area of shale gas.

Indian Oil Corp, the country’s biggest refiner by volume, has recently purchased a cargo of Canadian crude oil and is looking for sourcing more from Alberta in particular, it said.