OVL wins bid for stake in Colombia oil firm

ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned ONGC, and Chinese firm Sinopec have jointly won the bid to acquire 50% stake in Columbian oil firm Omimex de Columbia.

"We have been informed that the bid made to buy Columbian firm has been accepted. This asset will give us one million tonne of oil every year," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of ONGC here.

OVL-Sinopec will have 50% stake of Omimex de Columbia.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in its meeting held on August 3, had approved the OVL-Sinopec joint bid for the acquisition of the US firm which has onshore production as well as exploration blocks in Columbia with the net proven reserves of around 157 million barrels.

Omimex de Colombia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Omimex Resources Inc, is an American exploration and production company with oil and gas assets in seven states.