OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2012. OIL & NATURAL GAS CORPORATION (ONGC) and INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX), Japan’s largest oil company have entered into a strategic partnership for exploration of hydrocarbons in one of the acreages in KG basin. Both companies have today inked a Farm-out Agreement at ONGC’s corporate head-quarters in New Delhi.

INPEX has acquired a 26% participating interest farmed-out by ONGC in the exploration block KG-DWN-2004/6, located in the deep waters of Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal. ONGC continues as Operator of the Block with a 34% participating interest in consortium with existing partners GAIL (India) Limited (10%), Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (10%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (10%) and Oil India Limited (10%). Respective Boards of ONGC and INPEX Corporation have already approved the proposal.

The block KG-DWN-2004/6, awarded to an ONGC-led consortium under the NELP-VI licensing round, is located some 300 km off the Andhra Pradesh coast and covers an area of more than 10,000 sq kms with a water depth of approximately 3,000 m. Operator ONGC has completed most of the phase-I exploration programme in the block except drilling of one well which is to be taken up.

Close on the heels of ONGC’s recent tie-ups this year with global majors like US based ConocoPhillips, China’s CNPC and Colombia’s ECOPETROL SA, this is yet another successful effort in its attempt to collaborate and expand its strategic interests.