Norsk Hydro Signs Agreement With ONGC

New Delhi: ONGC has joined hands with Norwegian deepwater expert Norsk Hydro Produksjon to develop deepwater oil and gas blocks off the Indian coasts. Apart from extending technical support to ONGC, the Norwegian company has also agreed to acquire a participating interest of 10 per cent in ONGC''s deepwater block in Krishna Godavari Basin. The Norwegian company is going to buy 10 per cent participating interest in KG-DWN-98/2 with an investment cap of $26 million during appraisal phase and with an option to increase it by another 10 per cent. The Norwegian firm likely to go for participating interest in more NELP blocks of ONGC once they examine the data in the next six months.

ONGC currently has 32 offshore exploration blocks under NELP, of which 26 are in deepwater and six in shallow waters. ONGC has 100 per cent participating interest in 12 blocks. An agreement was inked on July 2, envisaging co-operation between the two oil giants for developing the continental shelf of India. This agreement is the culmination to a run-up of events, especially the Protocol of Intent inked between ONGC and Norsk Hydro in Oslo on September 1, 2005. Norsk Hydro is Norway''s State-run company credited with giving the Norwegian petroleum industry a global stature in offshore business in the past four decades, specialising in world-class project execution skills, especially in deepwater and rough seas. ONGC mulls to utilise the expertise of Norsk Hydro on development and production from deepwater and ultra-deepwater and thin oil development and production in Vasai East.