ONGC to revive Venezuela oilfield

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) plans to invest about $200 million to revive production at its San Cristobal oilfield in Venezuela, which has fallen to nearly a tenth of its peak output over the years due to US sanctions and poor management of the field by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, people familiar with the matter said.

ONGC's overseas arm ONGC Videsh (OVL) has secured a US licence to operate the field and is close to finalising an investment plan with PDVSA, they said. PDVSA owns a 60% participating interest in San Cristobal, while ONGC holds the remaining 40%. Under the plan, ONGC will also fund PDVSA's share of the investment and recover the money from the field's future output, they said. The total planned investment of $200 million includes PDVSA's share and is planned to be made over the next 12 months or so, they said. San Cristobal is currently producing 4,000-5,000 barrels per day. ONGC aims to substantially raise output, with the ultimate goal of restoring production to its previous peak of 45,000-50,000 barrels per day, they said.

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"OVL has been granted specific license by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), enabling continued operations, investments, and marketing of production from its Venezuelan assets," ONGC said in its latest annual report.