Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
IOC eyes French and Canadian firm
By agencies
|
Tuesday, 07 March 2006, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said it was in talks to acquire CanadaÂ’s Niko Resources and FranceÂ’s Maurel & Prom, although a source close to the French firm said it had not received a bid.
Announcing this, IOC’s Chairman Sarthak Behuria said that the company was awaiting Maurel and Prom's response to his company's offer. “Their board is still evaluating our proposal. We are waiting for their response,” Behuria added.
Sources close to Maurel & Prom said that it had not received a formal, written proposal from IOC.
IOC's push to acquire foreign firms dovetails with the overseas efforts of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which leads India's efforts to buy foreign oilfields and accounts for 80 percent of domestic crude output.
Previous week ONGC said it was keen to acquire the Indian assets of British oil explorer Cairn Energy, which has discovered oil in the desert state of Rajasthan. Behuria said IOC, India's largest refiner, and exploration firm Oil India Ltd., had submitted a joint bid for the French company.
Last year the government allowed IOC and Oil India to consider purchasing foreign oil assets in a bid to supplement the efforts of ONGC. Oil India's managing director said the two firms were planning the joint acquisition of an energy asset worth $3-4 billion.
The Indian government is encouraging state firms to bid for foreign oil assets as domestic oil production, which meets barely 30 percent of India's demand, has declined in the last decade and no large oil discovery has been reported for decades.
Indian oil firms have bid aggressively for oil projects across the globe but have lost out to Chinese rivals in the race for prized assets in several countries, including Angola and Kazakhstan.