Republic of Kazakhstan pre-empts ONGC Videsh bid to acquire ConocoPhillips stake in North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCS PSA) that includes Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field

Dated: 03 July 2013 05:54:19 PM

Based on the communication received through ConocoPhillips (COP), the Government of Kazakhstan has announced that in accordance with the Republic of Kazakhstan Law (ROK) on Subsurface and Subsurface Use, ROK has exercised its priority right and pre-empted the bid by ONGC Videsh to acquire the 8.4% stake of ConocoPhillips in the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCS PSA). ONGC Videsh is the 100% owned subsidiary of ONGC, the National Oil Company of India. It is understood that KazMunayGaz (KMG), the National Oil Company of Kazakhstan, shall be designated as the Buyer, on behalf of the State.

ONGC Videsh had finalized the definitive agreements in November 2012 for acquisition of 8.40% Participating Interest of ConocoPhillips in the NCS PSA. The bid of ONGC Videsh was not pre-empted by the Co-venturers of the NCS PSA within in the stipulated time period that ended in January 2013.

The Kashagan field, located in the shallow waters (~5m to 8m) of the Kazakh North Caspian Sea, is the world's largest current development project. Kashagan’s consortium partners are Eni, Total, Shell, ExxonMobil and KazMunaiGaz, each with 16.81% PI, while ConocoPhillips has PI of 8.40% and Inpex has 7.56%.

Notes to Editors:

About ONGC Videsh : ONGC Videsh is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, the national oil company of India. It is India’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company outside India. At present, ONGC Videsh has activities in 16 countries. For the year ended 31 March 2013, ONGC Videsh produced 7.26 MMTOE of oil and gas.

Issued By
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
Corporate Communications, New Delhi,
Phone: +91-11-23320032
Tele-Fax: 011-23357860
Mail: ongcdelhicc@ongc.co.in