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Our Bureau

Ahmedabad, Jan. 13

Gujarat NRE Mineral Resources Ltd (GNMRL), which owns two oil and gas prospecting blocks in Australia, is offering 10 crore equity shares to its existing shareholders on a rights basis, Mr Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Director, said here on Sunday. The issue will open on Monday (January 14) and close on January 31.

The issue has been priced at Rs 5, including a premium of Rs 4 per share. Each eligible shareholder is entitled to apply for a minimum of 5,000 shares and subsequently in multiples of 1,000, subject to a maximum of 10 lakh shares, he told reporters. The company is making this rights offer to the shareholders to raise Rs 50 crore to part finance the prospecting oil and gas exploration business, as also the three recently acquired running coke plants in Gujarat.

The company will be investing $4 million (approximately Rs 16 crore) in the next four years. But, for now, it is not planning to buy its own drilling rigs. GNMRL’s blocks, spread over 10,640 square kilometres, are in the Canning Basin Region of Western Australia and are the largest among the Indian companies prospecting for oil and gas in that country.

Hydrocarbons are expected to be available at a depth of 2,500-3,000 metres. Drilling is likely to start between mid-2009 and mid-2010, when the company is expected to be listed, he said. Replying to a question, Mr Jagatramka said, if necessary, the company may go in for an alliance with biggies like ONGC in Australia.

Its flagship company, Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd — India’s largest independent producer of metallurgical coke, which also owns and operates coal mines in Australia — could also set up ferro-alloy plant in India. It currently produces 1.1 million tonnes of coke and has a 25 per cent market share in western India.

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