ONGC Videsh might soon buy stake in 2 Siberian oilfields.

ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), foreign arm of government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is likely to soon acquire stakes in two Russian oilfields, Vankor and Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye.

It might sign an initial agreement in this regard as early as next week, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits India.

Russian state-owned oil exploration company Rosneft had, in October, made a formal offer to OVL to sell 10 per cent of its stake in the Vankor cluster in northern Siberia, the largest discovered field in Russia with estimated reserves of 500 million tonnes (mt) of oil and 182 billion cubic metres of gas.

'We have been discussing the aspects with Rosneft. A deal might be signed soon,' a top OVL executive told Business Standard.

Such a deal would strengthen OVL's presence in Russia. The company holds 20 per cent stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field in eastern Russia. It had also acquired the Siberian fields of Imperial Energy for $2.1 bn in 2009.

BS