'Import dependence may touch 85%'

ONGC Videsh Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, has been at the forefront of bagging oil exploration assets overseas.

RS Butola, chairman and managing director, spoke to Business Standard on the road ahead.

What are your overseas plans?

Our purpose is to supplement the energy security of the country. Today our import dependence is two-thirds. We import 70 per cent and produce 30 per cent.

Taking into account the increasing oil consumption in the country, we feel import dependence will increase further. It could go up to 85 per cent. So OVL's aim is to help the country maintain today's level of import dependence. We have identified countries such as Russia, Kazakhastan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq. We have a field in Qatar, where we have made a discovery.

Our appraisal work is currently on there, so that we can begin production as soon as possible.

In Africa, we have concentrated on countries like Nigeria and Angola and are now trying to enter Latin America. We have a property in Brazil where a discovery has been made. Development work is on there and production is expected to begin by the end of 2009. We are also looking for properties in Colombia.

What are your investment plans in Venezuela?

In Venezuela, we have joint operations with Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and we hope to discover some fields there.

We are assessing reserves in Venezuela and trying to assess how much reserve there could be and how much we can produce. Thereafter, we can talk about the cost (investment) of development.

What indications have you received from the Myanmar government on your interests for bidding in other blocks in the country?

The talks are at a preliminary stage. So it will be premature to comment on where we stand among other bidders but our knowledge of Myanmar's deep waters is good. We are working in almost the same conditions as in the Indian deep waters.

So, in terms of competition we are in a good position. We feel it is also in the interest of Myanmar as we have more knowledge than others and it will certainly benefit both parties.