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India wins third oil exploration block in Libya
Tuesday, 01 February 2005, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India has won a third oil exploration block in Libya, this time through the first joint effort of Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to seek opportunities overseas.
"Indian Oil and OIL have won an onshore block in the highly prospective Sirte Basin," Indian Oil chairman and managing director M.S. Ramachandran said Monday at a press conference where the third quarter results of the company were also announced.
Indian Oil Corporation is a state-owned refining and marketing major while OIL is an exploration company.
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), which currently holds stakes in two exploration blocks in Libya, however failed to get block 163 that it had bid.
"We did not bid aggressively enough as the block would not have been viable. We will participate in the next round as some good blocks are expected to be on offer," said R.S. Butola, managing director of OVL.
OVL holds 49 percent participating interest in Libyan exploration blocks 188 and 189 in Ghadames Basin, about 250 km south of Tripoli.
Five exploratory wells drilled into the block area show presence of oil and gas.
"We are doing further exploration and planning an initial investment of around $20 million in the two blocks," said Butola.
India has been encouraging state-owned companies to secure equity stakes and take up service contracts in exploration blocks and other energy projects overseas. The country has got stakes in over a dozen blocks in Russia, Sudan, Vietnam, Myanmar and Iran.
An Indian Oil-OIL team is in Libya after winning block 086.
According to Indian Oil sources, the combine would get 18.4 percent participating share of any production output from the block. The remaining will go to the Libyan national oil company, which would share the exploration cost.
Ramachandran said Indian Oil's net profit in the third quarter was 
12.87 billion, a drop of 46 percent over the same period in the last fiscal year.
"This was mainly due to higher under-recoveries and subsidies on kerosene and cooking gas and lower margins on petrol and diesel sales in the first half of the third quarter," he said.
Indian Oil's gross turnover Apr to Dec 2004 was 1.1 trillion, an increase of 17 percent from 940.17 billion during the same period in the last fiscal year.
The net profit for the nine-month period was 39.99 billion, much less than 51.55 billion for the same period of the previous year.
Source: IANS
12.87 billion, a drop of 46 percent over the same period in the last fiscal year.
"This was mainly due to higher under-recoveries and subsidies on kerosene and cooking gas and lower margins on petrol and diesel sales in the first half of the third quarter," he said.
Indian Oil's gross turnover Apr to Dec 2004 was 1.1 trillion, an increase of 17 percent from 940.17 billion during the same period in the last fiscal year.
The net profit for the nine-month period was 39.99 billion, much less than 51.55 billion for the same period of the previous year.
Source: IANS