ONGC, Petrobras to swap block stakes

NEW DELHI: Brazil’s Petrobras and ONGC have agreed to swap stakes in each other’s exploration blocks. To begin with, Petrobras has offered 25-30% stake to ONGC in return for three blocks held by its Indian partner in Mahanadi, Krishna-Godavari (KG) and Cauvery basins.

According to sources, Petrobras offered 25-30% stake in Barrierinhas, Sergipe-Alagoas and Santos basins. In return, ONGC has expressed its willingness to give between 15% and 40% stake in its three deep-water blocks.

ONGC in a statement said that it has reached an agreement with Petrobras on swapping of interests in offshore blocks in respective countries. It, however, did not mention the names of particular blocks and stakes involved. It is understood that the two partners would discuss further to finalise stakes. ONGC has recently made a major discovery of hydrocarbon in the KG basin adjacent to Reliance Industries’ discovery in the region. The ONGC-Petrobras agreement marks an increased presence of ONGC Videsh (OVL) in Brazil and the entry of Petrobras in India, the statement said.