ONGC, Oil India unlikely to buy Petronas' stake in Venezuela project

Sources say ONGC may not want to buy stake as it was already raising debt to fund recent acquisitions in Mozambique

ONGC and Oil India are unlikely to buy an 11% stake being shed by Malaysian state firm Petronas in Venezuela's Petrocarabobo petroleum project, sources close to the companies said on Tuesday.

ONGC may not want to up its share as it is already seeking to raise debt to fund recent acquisitions in Mozambique, one of the sources said. Another source said Oil and Natural Gas Corp is studying the possibility of buying Petronas' stake.

A source at Oil India also said his company was unlikely to buy Petronas' stake.

Both sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Oil India, ONGC, Indian Oil and Spain's Repsol are all partners in a consortium with Petronas that holds a 40% stake in the project. All of the companies involved in the project, including PDVSA, have pre-emption rights to the Petronas stake, the sources said.

ONGC has an 11% stake in the project while Oil India and Indian Oil Corp hold 3.5% each.