Mumbai: Indian public sector enterprises Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Oil India Ltd (OIL) and refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) have joined hands in investing $12bn over the next four years in developing a huge gas field off the Mozambique coast.
The gas found in the Rovuma Area-1 field, which is estimated to hold recoverable gas reserves of 75trn cu ft, will be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to nations like India.
ONGC’s overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd, along with OIL and BPCL, together hold 30% interest in the Rovuma Area-1 field. They have already invested $6bn thus far, and expect to pump in another $6bn by 2019 to develop the gas field.
An estimated $18.4bn will be required to bring the first set of discoveries in Rovuma Area-1 on to production and convert that gas into LNG for ease of shipping to consuming nations like India. OVL’s share in this would be $2.94bn.
