In Nigeria, a new mini bid round has resulted in the award of two prospective oil and gas blocks - OPL 209 and OPL 212 for ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL). The round focused primarily on upstream oil and gas companies that had made commitment in strategic sectors like refineries, power, transport and railways in the country.
The recoverable reserves potential estimated from a few clearly delineated prospects in the blocks are expected to be over one billion barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas. OMEL expects to pump 650,000 barrels a day from the two blocks, compared to its domestic production of 600,000 barrels currently.
ONGC chairman Subir Raha said that the acquisition of the two "very prospective" blocks would give OMEL a large presence in the highly prospective deepwater Gulf of Guinea, which is in consonance with the policy of the Indian government to sustain energy security of the country.
OMEL will undertake a work program in each block, including one exploration well and seismic studies, in the first five years.
Other successful companies in the mini round were; Transnational International Corp., China National Petroleum Corporation, INC Natural Resources,Nig-Del United, BG-Sahara (a partnership between BG Group PLC and Sahara Group) and Clean Waters.