ONGC, Pertamina swapping projects: Report

The state oil companies of India and Indonesia have been proposing joint exploration projects for almost two years and are now appear to be proceeding with the first of what may be numerous joint E&P efforts, Oil and Gas International online news reported Tuesday.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Pertamina are about to start the program with ONGC Videsh, the foreign exploration arm of ONGC, undertaking exploration of the Aru-Langkat area offshore northern Sumatra, and Pertamina exploring an area off western India in the Mumbai High region of the Arabian Sea.

The swap of exploration areas was reported in the Indian financial news publication Business Line, which said a final decision on both projects and perhaps others would be made within the next two months, after which both companies will likely proceed with exploration of these first two areas.

The initial agreement between ONGC and Pertamina, expressed in a memorandum of understanding signed in 2000, voiced the wishes of both companies to jointly embark on exploration opportunities not only in India and Indonesia, both onshore and offshore, but also in other countries where they could combine their expertise and finances. (*)