The Hindu Business Line : Essar Oil arm to bid for more Australian blocks

Kolkata, Aug. 25 Essar Exploration and Production Ltd – a wholly owned subsidiary of Essar Oil – may bid for more oil and gas blocks in Australia during the forthcoming bidding round later this year.

The bidding round is expected to be opened after the award of the last round, opened earlier this year, is announced. Essar E&P bid for 100 per cent interest in two shallow-water offshore blocks in Australia during the last round.

“We will explore the bidding opportunities during the next round expected to be opened in a couple of months,” a company official told Business Line adding that they were expecting the award of the last round to be announced in a couple of weeks.

Essar group currently holds exploratory interest in a number of assets in India and overseas.

Abroad, the company was recently awarded exploration rights in one offshore block in Vietnam. This apart it has operating interests in one onshore and one offshore block in Myanmar; three blocks in Madagascar and one block in Nigeria.

In India the company has one offshore (Ratna-R) and four onshore assets. Of the onshore assets, the Mehsana block (CB-ON/3) in Gujarat is in development and production stage and the rest three, located in Assam, are in various stages of exploration.

CBM block

Essar also owns 100 per cent interest in the Raniguju CBM block in West Bengal. The company has already completed the exploratory (core hole) drilling in the block and is currently drilling 15 test test (production) wells in the block for a realistic assessment of the production potential.

Related Stories:
Essar Exploration reschedules drilling campaign in Myanmar
Essar plans to invest in oil exploration sector in Vietnam

More Stories on : Overseas Investments | Petroleum

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page