OVL wants government help on Egypt block
ONGC Videsh wants government support to get exploration and production acreage in Egypt.
On 16th November, OVL wrote to oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar asking him to use his good offices to ensure that its bid for Block 6 in North Ramadan is received favourably at the highest levels of the government of Egypt. Said an OVL official: This is the best time for us to get a foothold in Egypt.
OVL is hoping to benefit from the new warmth between the two countries generated when Aiyar met his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Samir Fahmy in Vienna on 16th September. OVL has submitted a joint bid for this block, offered in the Egypt International Bid Round 1, 2004.
Seven other companies, including BP, are also competing for this much sought after block. Egypt is also offering three blocks under the International Bid Round 2, which is currently open.
OVL believes all three blocks are prospective and plans due diligence shortly.