OVL to go ahead with the acquisition Imperial Energy

The union cabinet has accorded its approval to ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, India's largest oil explorer, to go ahead with the acquisition of UK-listed Imperial Energy.

The cabinet committee on economic affirs met Tuesday morning to approve the deal. There is no official word on the government's decision as yet. People who are in the know of the deal said that the cabinet clearance was taken so that OVL could meet the Tuesday midnight deadline set by UK authorities.

This would pave the way for OVL to make the open offer to the UK listed shareholders. The $2.1 billion deal will be one of the bigger deals by ONGC in recent times Imperial Energy has oilfields in Russia. OVL had sought to delay making the open offer but the request was rejected by the Takeover panel on Monday.

Analysts say the deal works out to around $2 to $2.5 a barrel for OVL given Imperial's declared reserves of 900 million barrels and will help improve India's energy security. India meets almost 70% of its oil demand through imports.ONGC is being advised by Deutsche Bank. Merrill Lynch is advising Imperial.

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OVL may make ‘firm’ offer to Imperial soon
Imperial Energy has choosen OVL over Sinopec

OVL may make ‘firm’ offer to Imperial soon

ONGC Videsh (OVL) — the foreign arm of government-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) — is set to make a ‘firm’ offer to shareholders of the UK-based Imperial Energy within 28 days.On Monday, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) gave OVL a clean chit on anti-monopoly regulations, the other mandatory pre-condition for making a formal offer paving way for the $2.5 bn acquisition.

Imperial, incorporated in 2004, has oil and gas assets principally in the Tomsk region of western Siberia and the Kostanai region in north central Kazakhstan.It has about 920 mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) independently estimated proven and probable hydrocarbon reserves (2P) and around 3.4 bn boe of independently estimated proven plus probable plus possible hydrocarbon reserves (3P). The company plans to produce 25,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by December this year and 35,000 bopd by the end of 2009.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

Imperial Energy has choosen OVL over Sinopec

UK-listed Imperial Energy today said it has chosen ONGC Videsh Ltd over Chinese competitor Sinopec to discuss a possible sale to the Indian company and an announcement is likely shortly. OVL, through its wholly owned subsidiary Jarpeno Ltd, has made a 12.50 pounds per share takeover offer.

OVL, the overseas investment arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had made a takeover offer last month and earlier this month China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) made a counter offer.Imperial, a relatively small British oil and gas company based in Leeds in UK, has oil producing blocks in Tomsk region of western Siberia in Russia and Kastanai in north-central Kazakhstan.It produced about 10,000 barrels of oil per day in December 2007 and is targeting to raise this amount to 80,000 barrels per day (4 million tons a year) by year-end 2011.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

ONGC Videsh in talks to buy Canadian oil co

ONGC Videsh (OVL) — the foreign investment arm of ONGC — is in talks to take over a mid-sized listed Canadian oil company having hydrocarbon blocks including oil sand assets. OVL is negotiating to pick up 100% equity stake in the firm for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition would put OVL in a strategic position in the North American energy space. Code-named as “Project Crystal”, the target company is listed in TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and Stockholm Stock Exchange, Sweden. OVL, which is yet to begin due diligence, is tight-lipped about the company or the valuation.

The acquisition, if it goes through, will give OVL a foothold in oil sands, which gained currency following the spike in global oil prices. Canada is known to have high deposits of oil sands which are now being explored as a viable source of hydrocarbons. With oil prices ruling at over $125 a barrel, several non-conventional hydrocarbon sources like gas hydrates in India are being researched.

Read more in The Economic Times article.