India may lose major gas field in Iran |
In worrisome news for India, it has all but lost the ONGC Videsh Ltd-discovered a Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf after Iran decided to prefer domestic companies over foreign firms for the development of the field. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had in 2008 discovered a giant gas field in the Farsi offshore exploration block. OVL and its partners had offered to invest up to USD 11 billion for the development of the discovery, which was later named Farzad-B. After sitting over OVL`s proposal for years, the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) informed the firm in February this year about its intention to conclude the contract for Farzad-B development with an Iranian company. Farzad-B holds total reserves of around 21.7 trillion cubic feet of which around 60 percent is recoverable, and production is slated to be around 1.1 billion cubic feet per day. According to sources, Iran has identified a local firm for the development of the field, but OVL has not yet given up hopes and continues to chase Iranian authorities for the contract. The 3,500 square kilometer Farsi block is in a water depth of 20-90 meters on the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf. The Indian consortium has so far invested around USD 400 million in the block.
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