ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) is eyeing U.S. energy major Exxon Mobil's 25 per cent stake in a deep-sea block in Angola.
“We have been making efforts to acquire interest in upstream opportunities in Angola since 2002. We keep receiving proposals and we are examining one such opportunity,'' OVL Managing Director R. S. Butola told reporters on the sidelines of Petrotech 2010.
Visiting Angolan Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos said certain companies were looking at exiting Block 31 and they might be Exxon Mobil and Total of France.
Mr. Butola said OVL, which had in 2003 unsuccessfully bid for 45 per cent stake in the giant Akpo oilfield in Angola, would certainly be interested in opportunities such as Exxon's stake in Block 31. It was too early to say if bidding would happen, he added
Angola Oil Minister said his country would favour a joint approach by OVL with the African nation's state-owned firm Sonangol. British energy major BP is the operator of ultra deep-sea Block 31 where 19 oil discoveries have been made. Sonangol is the concessionaire of Block 31.
