India’s ONGC in pact with BP

India’s state owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and global oil giant British Petroleum (BP) have entered into an agreement to jointly undertake oil and gas exploration and production projects in India and abroad.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies was signed at a simple ceremony at ONGC’s corporate office in New Delhi on 31st August 2007. The MoU was signed by ONGC’s Director (Exploration) Mr. D K Pande and BP’s President, Middle East & South Asia Mr. Steve Peacock, in the presence of ONGC’s CMD Mr. R S Sharma, BP India’s Country Head Mr. Ashok K Jhawar, other Directors of ONGC, and senior executives of ONGC and BP.

The MoU also envisages possible participation in each other’s acreages in India and abroad, including offshore licenses and the CBM acreages in India. The MoU is valid for an initial period of 18 months, which can be extended further by mutual agreement of the two corporations.

After signing of the MoU, ONGC CMD Mr. R S Sharma said that both the oil majors have varied experiences in Exploration and Production business and this synergy will give competitive advantages to both entities in global operations.