By an OGJ correspondent
MUMBAI, Aug. 27 -- India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has signed a sale and purchase agreement with the McAlester Fuel Co., McAlester, Okla., for a 10% equity stake in a gas exploration project off Louisiana.
ONGC, which signed the deal through its Houston-based subsidiary Sakhalin India International, has been trying to hedge against steadily declining oil and gas production from its domestic properties by purchasing international oil acreage.
The first well drilled in the structure indicated the presence of gas at a depth of around 16,500 ft. The second well on the structure is currently being drilled and has reached a depth of 16,000 ft. After well logging and casing, drilling will be carried on to a depth of 16,850 ft.
"We expect that gas reserves in the property will be similar to those in our Viet Nam exploration acreages," said Y.B. Sinha, ONGC's director, exploration. "Once we locate the gas, we will work out arrangements to sell it through a neighboring marketing network."
