By an OGJ correspondent
MUMBAI, Sept. 9 -- ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian government-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), has signed a farm-out agreement with Turkish Petroleum Overseas Corp. to acquire a 49%equity stake in two inland oil and gas exploration blocks in Libya.
One of the exploration blocks is located in the prolific Sirte basin of Libya and measures about 2,100 square km. The second block is located in the upcoming Ghadames basin and is spread over an area of 6,600 sq km.
"We expect to complete the seismic survey of both the exploration blocks shortly, and have scheduled the drilling of the first exploratory well in 2003," said OVL's managing director Atul Chandra. "We are awaiting formal approval from the Libyan government."
Houston-based Sakhalin India Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of OVL, recently signed an agreement with McAlester Fuel Co. to take a 10% stake in an offshore gas exploration project block on the Louisiana coast.
