ONGC Videsh in talks with Pertamina, Daewoo over Myanmar exploration

ONGC Videsh, a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is in talks with Daewoo International Corp and state oil and gas firm Pertamina, for investments in exploration blocks in Myanmar, a senior ONGC official was quoted by Reuters on Monday.

"We are in talks with many companies including Daewoo and Pertamina for exploration blocks in the region," the official said.

He declined to give details of the discussions.

A business daily said on Monday ONGC Videsh was in advanced negotiations with Daewoo International to pick up a 30 percent stake in the Arakan offshore exploration block, near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh.

The block in the Bengal basin is estimated to have eight trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, it said.

The paper, quoting unnamed sources said ONGC Videsh was also in talks with Pertamina for investing in two blocks in Moattama offshore.

ONGC Videsh has been seeking opportunities abroad as the domestic output of state-run ONGC, India's largest oil exploration firm, has been falling because its main oil fields are declining.

It is already negotiating for exploration blocks in Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Algeria, Libya and Venezuela. (*)