ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), an overseas investment arm owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corp is to have a 40 percent stake in San Cristobal oilfield in Venezuela.
OVL will make an investment of US $355.738 million including the signature bonus of $173.1 million for the stake. The remaining 60 percent of the stake will be held by Venezuelan national oil company Petrleos de Venezuels (PDVSA).
ONGC will also be granting a loan of $355.74 million for the project located in Orinoco Heavy Oil belt that covers an area of 160.16 square kilometers. The field is currently yielding about 24,000 barrels of oil per day.
The recoverable reserves of the area are estimated to be 232.38 million barrels that can yield up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The board of joint venture company will include 2 directors from the Indian firm and 3 from PDVSA subsidiary.
Both OVL and PDVSA have agreed to expend an investment totaling to $446.13 million. Besides, the latter has also made plans to establish a refinery and a petroleum retailing venture in India. This refinery would primarily process Venezuelan crude from the San Cristobal block.
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