State-run ONGC Videsh (OVL) said on Friday said it has signed a definitive sale purchase agreement for directly acquiring 0.615 per cent participating interest (PI) in Offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field in Azerbaijan from Equinor.

The agreement also includes acquiring 0.73 per cent share of the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company through its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC BTC, the company, a subsidiary of E&P major ONGC, said.

The acquisitions are expected to be completed in the upcoming months. Total investment for these acquisitions would be up to $60 million. The acquisitions are in addition to ONGC Videsh’s existing 2.31 per cent PI in the ACG field and 2.36 per cent shareholding in the BTC pipeline, it added.

ACG is a super-giant offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea operated by oil major BP since 1999. The field has been developed in phases and a seventh production platform, Azeri Central East, has been commissioned in early 2024. 

The other partners in the field are SOCAR, MOL, INPEX, Exxon, Turkiye Petrolleri AO and Itochu. The field has a contract term till December 31, 2049. Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline carries oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. It links Sangachal terminal on the shores of the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

OVL is engaged in overseas E&P operations and is India’s largest international Oil and Gas E&P Company having 32 Assets in 15 countries. 

The acquisition is consistent with its strategic objective of energy security of the nation by adding high-quality international assets with equity oil to its existing portfolio. 

ONGC Videsh’s production of Oil and Oil Equivalent Gas (O+OEG) during FY24 was 10.518 MMtoe and it currently produces about 200,000 barrels of O+OEG per day. 

It has total O&G reserves (2P) of about 476 MMtoe whereas its parent, ONGC has 2P reserves of 704 MMtoe as on April 1, 2024.

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