OREANDA-NEWS. ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) have completed the acquisition of 10% PI in the Rovuma Area 1 offshore Block, Mozambique by acquiring 100% shares of Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Limited, the company holding the 10% PI in the Area 1 from Videocon Mauritius Energy Limited. On 25th June 2013, definitive agreements were signed with Videocon Mauritius Energy Limited to acquire this interest. The terms of the transaction remain broadly the same as per the earlier announcement.

Area 1 covers approximately 2.6 million acres in the deep-water Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique and represents the largest gas discovery in offshore East Africa with estimated recoverable reserves of 35 to 65 trillion cubic feet. The partners in Area 1 include Anadarko (operator of the project), ENH (the NOC of Mozambique), Mitsui, BPRL, and PTTEP.

This marks OVL's entry into this emerging world class offshore gas basin with significant future upside potential. Area 1 has the potential to become one of the world's largest LNG producing hubs and is strategically located to supply LNG to the growing Indian gas market.

OVL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the national oil company of India, and is India's largest international oil and gas E&P company. OVL participates in 32 projects in 16 countries including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Vietnam. OVL is currently producing 160 thousand barrelsof oil and oil equivalent gas per day and has total oil and gas reserves of about 433 mmtoe as on 31 March 2013.

ONGC's market capitalisation as on 6th January 2014, was INR 240366 Crore (USD 38.57 billion). It is the highest valued and highest profit making Government of India enterprise. During the financial year ended 31 March 2013, ONGC Group had produced 58.7 million tonne of oil and oil equivalent gas (mmtoe) (approx. 1.2 mmboe per day), Turnover of INR 165,849 Crore (USD 30.45 billion) and profit after tax of INR 24,220 Crore (USD 4.44 billion). ONGC Group had total oil and gas reserves of 1,759 mmtoe as on 31 March 2013.

Note: Turnover and profit data for ONGC presented in USD for illustrative purposes only and converted from Indian Rupee at the exchange rate of INR 54.45 for USD 1 (average RBI reference rate for 2012-13). Market capitalisation of ONGC as on 6th January 2014 converted at [INR 62.33 for USD 1 (RBI reference rate of 6th January 2014)].

[Editor's note on terms of the transaction: ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) had signed definitive agreements in Singapore on 25th June 2013 with Videocon Mauritius Energy Limited to acquire 100% of shares in Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Limited, the company holding a 10% participating interest in the Rovuma Area 1 Offshore Block in Mozambique (Area 1) for USD 2,475 million. In the acquired entity, OVL and OIL will hold 60% stake and 40% stake, respectively.]