India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced that its international arm ONGC Videsh has acquired a 0.615% participating interest in the Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oilfield from Equinor.
This acquisition, valued at $60m (Rs5.08bn) and first announced in July, also includes a 0.737% stake in the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company.
It builds on ONGC Videsh's existing interests, which include a 2.31% stake in the ACG field and a 2.36% shareholding in the BTC pipeline.
The ACG oilfield, a 'super-giant' offshore field in the Caspian Sea, has been operated by UK oil and gas major BP since 1999 and is a key contributor to Azerbaijan's oil production.
Developed in phases, the ACG field recently commissioned its seventh production platform, Azeri Central East, in early 2024.
According to GlobalData, the field has recovered 59.14% of its total recoverable reserves and is projected to continue production until 2049.
The ACG field accounts for 37% of Azerbaijan's national daily oil production.
Other partners in the field include Exxon, Inpex, Itochu, MOL, SOCAR and Turkiye Petrolleri AO.
The field's contract term extends until 31 December 2049.
The BTC pipeline transports oil from the ACG field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, linking the Sangachal terminal on the Caspian Sea to the Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
In a statement, ONGC said: “This acquisition is consistent with its strategic objective of energy security of the nation by adding high-quality international assets with equity oil to its existing portfolio.”
With 32 assets in 15 countries, ONGC Videsh is said to be India's largest international oil and gas exploration and production company,
In fiscal year 2024, ONGC Videsh's production of oil and oil equivalent gas was 10.52 million tonnes (mt) of oil equivalent, with a current output of about 200,000 barrels per day.
As of 1 April 2024, ONGC Videsh's total oil and gas reserves (2P) stood at approximately 476mt of oil equivalent, while its parent company, ONGC, has 2P reserves of 704mt of oil equivalent.
