India bids for stake in Ecuador oilfields

Friday, 03 December 2004, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: India has bid for acquiring a top Canadian firm's stake in Ecuador oilfields for which several global majors are also reportedly in the race. "Our bid has been submitted," state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Chairman Subir Raha said here Friday on the sidelines of a conference. Raha said the Canadian company EnCana's stake is in a cluster of oilfields, but refused to divulge the details of India's bid. EnCana reportedly wants to offload its stake in Ecuador due to political uncertainty dogging its operations. It has stakes in the Amazon blocks 14, 17 and Tarapoa, which together have an output of 66,891 barrels per day. The assets of the Canadian company are estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion. Dependent on imports for 70 percent of its domestic requirement, India has been pushing state-owned oil and gas companies to seek equity stakes overseas. So far India has acquired assets in 10 countries, including Russia, Sudan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Libya and Australia, through ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of ONGC.
Source: IANS
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