ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, will acquire 11 per cent stake in a 744 million barrel oil field in Sudan for $125.4 million.
"The Cabinet committee on economic affairs cleared the proposal last evening," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told reporters on the sidelines of an IEA seminar in New Delhi.
OVL will buyout 6 per cent stake of Gulf Petroleum Corporation of Qatar in Block 3 and 7 for $68.4 million, and UAE's Al-Thani Group's 5 per cent stake in the field for $57 million.
Naik said the CCEA has also decided that the total exposure of OVL in Sudan will not exceed $1 billion. OVL had previously acquired Talisman Energy Plc's 25 per cent stake in 260,000 barrels a day Greater Nile Oil Project for $699 million and recently it acquired a quarter of share in Blocks 5A and 5B for $136 million.
"The technical issues in this will be sorted out between the ministries of petroleum and finance," he said.
Exploration Block 3 and 7 are estimated to go on production from 2005 and reach 10 million tonnes per year.
"India's take from the blocks will be over 1 million tonnes of crude oil annually," Naik said.
Block 3 and 7 have Petronas of Malaysia (40 per cent stake) and China National Petroleum Corporation (41 per cent) as majority stakeholders. Sudan National Petroleum Corporation also has 8 per cent stake.