India weighs options to price Abu Dhabi oil lease

new delhi - It will study the bids for the remaining 30 per cent that the emirate intends to lease out in the oilfield

The price that India will pay for the 10 per cent concession in Abu Dhabi's Lower Zakum oilfields will emerge after the bids are in for the remaining 30 per cent that the emirate intends to lease out, Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.

He also said the first oil from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) for India's strategic petroleum reserves at Mangalore - under an agreement signed with the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE last week - would be arriving in May this year.

Modi's second visit to the UAE resulted in an Indian consortium gaining stake for the first time in Abu Dhabi's massive oil resources.

An MoU was signed on Saturday in Abu Dhabi between an Indian consortium comprising state-run explorer ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources, Indian Oil and Adnoc for the acquisition of 10 per cent participating interest in its offshore Lower Zakum Concession.

The UAE is one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to India and is also the 10th largest investor.

The consortium, led by India's ONGC Videsh, contributed a participation fee of Dh2.2 billion to enter the concession. The concession will be operated by Adnoc Offshore, a subsidiary of Adnoc, on behalf of all concession partners.

The agreement, which has a term of 40 years and an effective date of March 9, 2018, was signed by ONGC chairman Shashi Shanker and Adnoc Group chief executive Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber. - IANS