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Indian company seeks stake in Azeri oilfield

23 May 2007 10:38 (UTC +04:00)

"We have recently submitted a preliminary bid to pick up a half stake of Caspian Energy in Shirvan Oil, which operates the Kyurovdag oilfield in Azerbaijan," said an officer of State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp., APA-Economics reports.
"Azerbaijan has always been an area of focus for us. We are waiting for a response from them," the official said.
The value of the possible transaction was not known but the official said the amount will be around $300 million.
If its bid, code-named golden goose, succeeds, the acquisition will mark OVLâ€™s entry into the energy-rich Caspian country.
The field was discovered in 1955 and has been under production since 1956.
SOCAR and Caspian Energy Group established the Shirvan Oil joint venture in 1997 to develop the Kyurovdag field, with 51 % and 49 % of shares respectively. However, the parties later decided to sign a Production Sharing Agreement after they grew dissatisfied with the joint venture.
The two companies inked a deal to start oil development in Kyurovdag on November 5, 2004.
Shirvan Oil Operating Company produced 72,750 tons of oil during January-April.
Kyurovdag has estimated reserves of 5.5 million tons of oil and output averaged 677 tons a day. /APA-Economics/