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Pratim Ranjan Bose

Kolkata, Aug. 29 Indian Oil and Oil India Ltd combine is looking for partners to participate in the next bidding round for oil and gas exploratory assets in Australia.

The round is expected to open in next couple of months.

“We (IOC and OIL) are interested in participating in the next bidding round in Australia. However, we want to limit our exposure to participatory stake and are on the lookout for an operating partner,” an IOC source told Business Line.

Interestingly, IOC sources admit that the two-year long spike in crude prices and the resulting financial crisis has impacted its investment plans in the upstream sector.

“Our aspirations are now directly linked to crude price movement. We could not explore any opportunity during last couple of months when crude was on fire. Now that prices have eased a bit we plan to venture out again. Hopefully crude prices will soften a bit more,” the source said.

“We did not bid for Imperial Energy, because we do not have money,” a source said referring the recent bid by ONGC Videsh to acquire the British upstream company.

Meanwhile, the stalemate continues with regard to IOC’s proposed investment in a 15-million tonne refinery in Turkey.

The IOC-Calik joint venture led consortium is yet to receive final clearance for setting up the $4.9-billion refinery at the port city of Ceyhan.

Also the consortium partners are yet to reach at an understanding regarding the equity structure and project funding options.

ENI of Italy and KazMunayGas (KMG) of Kazakhstan had expressed their intention to participate in the consortium.

According to the initial proposal forwarded by the IOC-Calik venture, all four proposed stakeholders IOC, Calik, ENI and KMG were offered equal stake in the project, with IOC-Calik company controlling the management.

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