Gas Authority of India said on Wednesday that it was interested in acquiring oil and gas properties of Scottish explorer Cairn Energy Plc in India and Bangladesh.
"They (Cairn) has offered us their oil and gas block in Krishna Godavari Basin... we are not averse to the acquisition of Cairn's other assets in India and Bangladesh," GAIL chairman and managing director Proshanto Banerjee told reporters in New Delhi.
Cairn Energy has set up a data room containing financial and technical information about its oil properties and a GAIL team was likely to visit it this month for due diligence. The British firm, which has put up for sale its properties in KG and Cambay Basin, has indicated that it expects price bids for its assets by next month.
GAIL was interested in acquiring Cairn's one trillion cubic feet Krishna Godavari gas field and the Cambay basin block CB-OS/2 where five oil and gas discoveries have been made.
Industry sources said Cairn Energy has also begun talking to British oil and gas major BG Group for sale of its stake in deepwater block KG-DWN-98/2 and shallow water block KG-OS/6 (both in KG Basin), Cambay basin block and the 50,000 barrels per day Ravva oil field.
It has also send fillers to Reliance Industries as also state refiner Indian Oil Corporation, which too was initially interested in Cairn's assets.
Meanwhile, GAIL has also evinced interest in acquiring Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC)-operated KG Basin shallow water block KG-OSN-2001/3, Banerjee said.