NEW DELHI: Statoil State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks with US energy major ConocoPhillips to forge Reliance-BP kind of partnership in its exploration blocks including discovered blocks in Krishna-Godavari (KG) and Mahanadi basins.
The company has said in a statement "discussions with ConocoPhillips to explore possibilities of any business partnership are at a very nascent stage. ConocoPhillips is US' third-largest energy company and the fifth-largest refiner in the world.
There is a market speculation that ONGC has offered stakes in 18-19 oil and gas exploration blocks to ConocoPhillips.
ONGC declined to give any detail citing that the company is constrained by the "corporate governance guidelines."
Shares of the company rose 2.05% to Rs 261.75 on Tuesday.
After taking over as chairman & managing director of ONGC, Sudhir Vasudeva had said on Oct 2011 that the company was open to partnership with foreign energy majors for increasing oil and gas output from new discoveries, particularly two discoveries in Mahanadi basin and one in KG basin.
ONGC has been scouting for deepwater experts for its KG basin block since 2010 when foreign partners in the discovered gas fields, Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras and Norwegian oil major Statoil decided to quit the project. ONGC had farmed out 15% interest in the block to Petrobras and 10% to Norsk Hydro (Statoil) in 2007.
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