A consortium led by ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), and comprising other state-run companies Indian Oil Corporation Limited (NSEI:IOC) (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (NSEI:BPCL) (BPRL) and Oil India Limited (NSEI:OIL) (OIL), is looking to buy a stake in a producing hydrocarbon asset of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the largest oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said two people aware of the matter. The proposed transaction is being facilitated through government-to-government (G2G) talks between India and the UAE. If the deal goes through, it will be the second Indian upstream investment in a producing asset in the
Gulf region. The UAE is a crucial part of India's energy security strategy. The West Asian oil producer is the first country to have participated in India's strategic petroleum reserves programme. In April-August, the UAE, which is a member country of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), exported $8.36 billion of crude oil to India, or 10.8% of India's total oil imports in value term, showed ministry of commerce and industry data. India's gas imports from UAE during April-August totalled $1.80 billion, or 21.8% of its gas imports. Opec accounts for around 85% of India's total crude oil imports, and 40% of global production. "We already have two blocks in the UAE, of which one is a producing block, and the other is an exploration block. We are looking to get into another producing block, and the stake is expected to be acquired by a consortium led by ONGC Videsh," said one of the two people cited above requesting anonymity. As a part of India's comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE, OVL, IOCL, and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. subsidiary BPRL have a 10% stake in the producing offshore Lower Zakum oil field. The agreement was inked in 2018 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. Adnoc has also awarded exploration rights for the Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 to the BPCL-IOCL consortium. Considering that India is dependent on imports for 85% of its oil needs and 55% of natural gas demand, record high energy prices are a major concern. In such a scenario, picking up equity in oil and gas assets provides some relief. When contacted, a BPCL spokesperson declined to comment. Queries emailed to the spokespersons of ONGC Videsh, IOCL, OIL, Adnoc and India's ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Tuesday did not elicit any response till press time. Queries emailed to the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday night also remained unanswered. Meanwhile, Adnoc is also looking to expand its presence in India through investments in refining and petrochemical projects besides stocking more crude oil in the country, the world's third-largest energy consumer. Adnoc is also a stakeholder in the proposed refinery and petrochemicals project on India's west coast. Adnoc has partnered with Reliance Industries Ltd. to jointly build a petrochemicals facility in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. OVL is the overseas arm of ONGC and has been investing in oil and gas assets to secure India's energy needs. It owns participating interests (PI) in 33 oil and gas assets in 15 countries and contributed nearly 9.4% to India's domestic oil and natural gas output in 2021-22.