New Delhi : Sudan has offered ONGC Videsh Ltd three more oil and gas blocks for exploration and production and invited Indian firms to set up a coastal refinery to boost fuel supplies to the African continent.
The offer made by visiting Sudanese Oil Minister Mohamed Zayed Awad is part of the African nation’s efforts to seek greater energy engagements with India, to which it owes $240 million in oil dues.
OVL, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), already has a 25 % stake in Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP) in Sudan that produces about 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
Awad said Sudan has offered Blocks 8, 15 and 24 for exploration of oil and has asked OVL to consider buying a stake in producing Block 17. Block 17 currently produces 7,000 bpd of oil.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Sudan is also keen on Indian firms setting up a coastal refinery to meet not just local fuel demand but also export to other African nations.
