OREANDA-NEWS. Financial results of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC, for the half year ended 30th September, 2013 were considered and approved by the Board of Directors in its meeting held on 12th November 2013. The highlights of the results are as below:

Particulars

Unit

H1 FY'14

H1 FY'13

% Variation

FY'13

Production

Crude Oil

MMT

2.707

2.276

(+) 18.94

4.341

Natural Gas

BCM

1.410

1.212

(+) 16.34

2.919

Total Oil and Oil Equivalent Gas

MMTOE

4.117

3.488

(+) 18.03

7.260

Financial

Gross Revenue

Crore

10,060

8,209

(+) 22.55

17,671

Net Profit

Crore Crore

1,886

1,649

(+) 14.37

3,929

During H1 FY'14 the company earned profit of 1,886Crore, an increase of 14.37% as compared to the corresponding period of theprevious year.

A. Highlights:

OVL currently has participation in 32 projects in 16 countries, out of which 12are producing projects, 4 discovered/ under-development projects, 14 exploratory projects and 2 pipeline projects.

1. New Acquisitions

a) On 11th October 2013, the Company, through its affiliates, has signed Sale and Purchase Agreements with Petrobras for acquisition of 12 % PI in the Producing block BC-10, Brazil, for a consideration USD 529Million. The Company is already present in the block with 15% PI since 2006. On closing, PI of OVL would increase to 27%. The acquisition of additional PI in the block is subject to approval of the Brazilian regulatory authorities.

b) On 10th October 2013, the Company has been awarded two onshore exploratory blocks namely B2 (Zebyutaung-Nandaw) and EP-3 (Thegon-Shwegu) in the Myanmar Onshore Bidding Round 2013. Block B-2, having an area of 16995 sq. kms. is located in Northern Myanmar, bordering state of Manipur in India and Block EP-3 having an area of 1650 sq. kms. is located in Central Myanmar.

OVL has been awarded two exploratory Blocks SS09 & SS04 in the Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round 2012 andthe PSC & JOA for both Blocks were initialled on 19th September 2013.

c) The Company has signed two definitive agreements - one with Anadarko and the other (jointly with Oil India Limited (OIL) with Videocon for acquisition of 10% participating interest each in the Rovuma Area 1 Offshore Block in Mozambique. Both the transactions are subject to the usual closing conditions and no partner has exercised their pre-emption rights for either of the transactions.

d) The approval of the Government of Mozambique is awaited for the Anadarko transaction. Approval of Government of India has been received for both these acquisitions and both transactions are expected to close within this financial year.

2. Operations

a. The current geo-political situation in Syria including EU sanctions and the resulting restrictions on Contractor continues to adversely affect Syrian operations since December 2011.

b. First commercial production of gas from Block A3 in Offshore Myanmar commenced on 15th July 2013. The field is producing currently at 4.6 MMSCMD. Production is expected to reach 5.67 MMSCMD in December 2013 and will reach peak level of 14.50 MMSCMD in Q1 of 2015. OVL has 17% share in the fields.

3. Strategic Alliances

The Company has signed an MOU with Venezuelan state giant PDVSA on 9th October 2013 in Caracas. The MOU encompasses strategic cooperation and participation in the exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources in the oil-rich Faja area of Venezuela. The MOU will facilitate OVL and PDVSA to explore available opportunities through joint collaboration and hence, enhance OVL's interest in Venezuela. OVL currently has stakes in two projects in Venezuela; Petro-Carabobo and Petro-Indovenezolana (San Cristobal).

B. Long Term Plans:

The company continues to pursueopportunities towards energy security for the country through both organic and inorganic growth by participating in bidding rounds in exploration blocks and acquiring discovered/producing oil and gas projects overseas to achieve its long term strategic target to reach production level of 20 MMToep.a. by FY'18 and 60 MMToe p.a. by FY'30.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Shri Sudhir Vasudeva complimented OVL team for its endeavor to secure equity oil for the country, as well as good operational & financial performance by the company.