The Hindu Business Line : ONGC to buy back Cairn’s 30% stake in Cambay block

New Delhi, April 8 ONGC is set to buyback Cairn India’s stake in the Cambay Basin block. Cairn holds 30 per cent stake in the block CB-ONN-2001/1 with remaining 70 per cent held by the public sector exploration company, ONGC.

A senior ONGC official told Business Line that the company’s board, which met last Saturday, has given its nod for acquiring Cairn’s stake in the onshore Gujarat block. ONGC is likely to pay around Rs 5 crore for acquiring the stake. The block was awarded to ONGC in the third round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), when the public sector company held 100 per cent stake and operatorship.

Subsequently, Cairn had joined as a farm-in partner in the block and acquired 30 per cent stake. The block occupies an area of 215 square kilometres. “It is an exploratory block and phase one activity has been completed. The partners have drilled four exploratory wells and initial prospects are encouraging,” he said. A final commitment well on this block was drilled and abandoned in April last year.

More wells

ONGC plans to drill more wells in the block, the official said. The recent discovery in the adjoining area has made the company upbeat about the prospects in this block also, he added. ONGC is hoping to continue with its good run through the remaining nine months of the year.

It started the year on a positive note with the company notifying four discoveries in a month (January 21-February 24). ONGC after its Board meeting held on February 25 said that it has notified to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) four discoveries of crude oil and natural gas since the last Board meeting on January 21. Three of the discoveries are onland and the fourth in offshore.