ONGC to scout for oil assets in Kazakhstan, Cuba

ONGC to scout for oil assets in Kazakhstan, Cuba

By IANS
Tuesday September 19, 05:17 PM

New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) State-owned exploration major Oil and Natural
Gas Corp (ONGC) Tuesday said it is looking at partnering national oil
companies abroad to acquire hydrocarbon assets in countries like
Kazakhstan and Cuba.

At the company's annual general meeting, chairman and managing director
R.S. Sharma also announced a bonus issue for shareholders in the ratio
of one share for every five held in the company.

'The board had proposed bonus issue in August and the annual general
meeting has approved it today. The bonus shares will be issued in
November,' Sharma said.

The company top brass was also optimistic on winning several
hydrocarbons in the latest round of exploration bids announced by the
Indian petroleum ministry. 'We are really hopeful of grabbing
substantial blocks,' he said.

The top ONGC official said the company would be getting the first
consignment of 90,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Sakhalin oil field in
Russia in the second week of November. 'It will be processed at
Mangamore Refinery,' he added.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investing arm of the state-run company,
has a 20-percent stake in Sakhalin-I oil field.

The ONGC chairman said that the company was also looking at importing
liquefied petroleum gas. 'Gas is an emerging fuel of the decade and its
derivatives have a huge business potential,' Sharma said.

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