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India buys into Mozambique natural gas field

NEW DELHI, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. announced Monday it was paying $2.6 billion to U.S. rival Anadarko for a 10 percent stake in a Mozambique natural gas field.

ONGC Videsh Ltd., part of India's largest exploration company, said it finalized the deal with the Mozambique subsidiary of Anadarko for a share in the so-called Area 1 block off Mozambique.

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Area 1 encompasses 2.6 million acres in the Rovuma basin in deep waters. ONGC said the basin is the largest natural gas discovery in the region, with estimated recoverable reserves of 36 trillion to 65 trillion cubic feet.

ONGC said the area has the potential to become "one of the world's largest LNG projects and today's acquisition marks a further significant step ... toward the energy security of our country," Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said in a statement.

India lacks much of the infrastructure to exploit its own natural gas reserves. ONGC said the acquisition is part of a long-term strategy to secure more reserves.

ONGC and Oil India in June bought a 10 percent stake in Area 1 from Indian conglomerate Videocon Group for $2.48 billion.

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