ONGC-Mittal JV bags 2 gas blocks

NEW DELHI: Steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal’s JV with ONGC Videsh has won an exploration block with estimated gas reserves of two trillion cubic feet (TCF) in Trinidad and Tobago. ONGC-Mittal Energy beat UK’s Centrica to bag the offshore block, a company official said.

OMEL, the 51:49 JV between Mittal Energy and the overseas investment arm of state-run ONGC, made a revised financial commitment of around $204 million to win the block. Trinidad and Tobago had in January 2006 offered eight onshore and three shallow marine blocks for bidding.

OMEL made an initial bid of around $175 million including signature bonus. It later emerged that Centrica and a consortium led by BG of UK had also submitted bids for the block.