Chevron, Total in talks with ONGC for upstream projects in India

Chevron, Total in talks with ONGC for upstream projects in India

ONGC already has a preliminary agreement with US-based ExxonMobil for partnership in the exploration sector. ExxonMobil is currently studying Indian geological data to finalise exploration opportunities.

New Delhi: Chevron and Total Energies are engaged in separate partnership talks with ONGC for upstream projects in India in a sign of growing interest in the country’s exploration sector that has barely received attention from foreign energy firms in recent years.

Senior executives of Chevron of the US and ONGC discussed opportunities in the Indian exploration sector last month, while ONGC and France’s Total have formed a technical committee comprising key executives to consider various opportunities, people familiar with the matter said.

Conversations with the two energy giants were initiated after ONGC reached out to a dozen international oil companies a few months ago for possible alliances that could range from joint exploration and inducting foreign players as partner-investors in the Indian firm’s discovered and mature fields, to sharing of technology and teaming up in the international arena. Policy reforms of recent years appear to be driving up Chevron’s interest in India, people cited earlier said. The two companies are likely to go in for more rounds of discussion before taking a final call, they said.

With a market value of about $190 billion, Chevron is among the top oil and gas producers in the world. It is also part of the shrinking tribe of the oil majors willing to place big bets on oil and gas exploration despite rising pressure from climate activists.

Talks between ONGC and Total Energies are also progressing at a fast clip. Executives of the two firms have interacted at least twice in two months and discussed opportunities in joint exploration, development of discovered resources, and international collaboration, the sources said. More discussions will follow before the two companies agree to a deal, they said.

Total, with a market value of $110 billion, already has a presence in India in the natural gas sector where it’s building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and a large city gas distribution network in partnership with the Adani group.

ONGC already has a preliminary agreement with US-based ExxonMobil for partnership in the exploration sector. ExxonMobil is currently studying Indian geological data to finalise exploration opportunities.

Instead of driving in alone, foreign players appear to be seeking a stable and dominant partner in ONGC that has decades of industry experience, deep knowledge of Indian geology, and a strong talent pool. Three decades after the sector was opened to the private sector, ONGC still accounts for more than 60% of the domestic oil and gas output.

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/chevron-total-in-talks-with-ongc-for-upstream-projects-in-india/84963163

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