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ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) plans to tap overseas debt markets to repay its bridge loans of $2.25 billion (around ₹13,530 crore today), raised to fund the recent acquisitions in Mozambique.
“We are exploring options to launch a bond issue in the US market. We may also go in for a bond issue in Europe,” SP Garg, Managing Director and CEO of OVL, told reporters here.
The overseas arm of ONGC is also considering raising a loan against the sale of crude oil to replace the bridge finance.
OVL’s total borrowings currently stand at $4.8 billion, of which bridge finance, or short-term finance, is to an extent of $2.2 billion and the rest is term loan. OVL, along with Oil India, recently acquired a 10 per cent stake from Videocon in an offshore block in Mozambique for $2.475 billion. It also bought another 10 per cent stake in the same block from US-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for $2.64 billion.
Garg said OVL’s oil and gas production in 2013-14 saw a 15 per cent increase to 8.36 million tonnes (mt) over the previous year’s 7.26 mt. The output was boosted by newer stream of production in oilfields acquired in Azerbaijan, Brazil and Myanmar.
Production of crude oil and condensate was 26 per cent more at 5.49 mt, while natural gas output declined 2 per cent over the previous year to 2.869 billion cubic metres.
For 2014-15, OVL has planned a capital expenditure of ₹14,792 crore, Garg said. In 2013-14, the company incurred a capex of ₹35,000 crore, of which over ₹30,000 crore was spent on acquisitions.
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