Our Bureau

New Delhi , Feb. 18

ONGC expects to get stake in the Yadavaran oil field in Iran on the same terms as is being negotiated by the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) with Iranian authorities.

Reports are that Sinopec is expected to sign an agreement with Iran on the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the exploration of the Yadavaran oil field soon. It is gathered that negotiations are going on between the Chinese company and the Iranian firms.

In October 2004, Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding with China under which Sinopec would buy 10 mt a year of LNG for 25 years. The deal between the two parties also granted Sinopec the right to exploit the Yadavaran oil field on a buy-back basis in cooperation with a major international oil company.

Earlier, Iran had negotiated a $40-billion deal with India for giving the Indian company a 20 per cent stake in some Iranian oil fields. As part of the deal, India had agreed to buy 7.5 million tonnes of LNG from Iran per annum for 25 years. India also gained a 100 per cent stake in the Jeyfr oil field (estimated at 30,000 barrels a day) through OVL.

According to reports, while Sinopec may hold a 51 per cent stake in the Yadavaran oil field project, ONGC is expected to own 29 per cent.

The remaining share of the oil field is to be owned by the National Iranian Oil Company. The field is projected to begin production in 2009.

Yadavaran field is an oil field located in Khuzestan, Iran. The field is estimated to have reserves of up to 17 billion barrels of oil, with 3 billion barrels considered to be recoverable.