Tatas have joined hands with state refiner Indian Oil Corporation and exploration firm Oil India to consider bidding for acquiring Caspian Energy Group LLP's (CEG) interest in an Azerbaijan oil field.Tata Petrodyne, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, has joined the IOC-OIL combine to make a bid to buy CEG's 51% stake in the Shivran Oil Operating Company that runs the Kyurovdag oil field in Azerbaijan, industry sources said.Tata Petrodyne official could not be immediately reached for comments.The company is the vehicle for Tata Group's foray into the oil and natural gas industry.ONGC-Mittal Energy (OMEL), the joint venture of ONGC Videsh and steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal's group, had in May made a $300 million bid for the stake but the deal was cancelled after the reports of the bid appeared in the media.Caspian Energy has since then not been able to find a buyer and had in fact gone back to OVL, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), to stitch a deal.It was not immediately clear if OVL or OMEL will take a second look at Caspain Energy.The remaining 49% stake in Shivran Oil Operating Company is held by State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).Sources said the Kyurovdag onshore oil field was discovered and first developed by USSR in 1955 and Shivran is operating it since June 1996. The field is believed to hold an in-place oil reserves of 4.3 billion barrels, of which 800 million barrels are recoverable.
