Wednesday, September 1, 2004
India to seek oil fields in Iran, Angola
Press Trust of India New Delhi, September 1
India will seek oil fields in Iran and Angola when Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar meets his counterparts from Tehran and Luanda on the sidelines of the oil cartel OPEC meeting in Vienna later this month.
Aiyar, who will address the meeting on September 17, will also raise the issue of OPEC countries charging a $1 per barrel premium from developing countries in Asia on crude they sell to them.
"Beside the major oil producers, this time a number of non-OPEC members have also been called. This is an excellent opportunity for discussing bilateral issues," he said adding he would also meet oil ministers from Iran, Angola and Norway.
New Delhi will seek to strike a deal for ONGC Videsh Ltd, who bid to buy Shell's 50 per cent stake in an offshore oil Block 18 for $623 million but which has been blocked by the Angolan state oil company Sonangol.
Besides, India will also persuade Tehran to give the giant Yadavaran oil field in exchange of New Delhi buying five million tonne of LNG from Iran.
Aiyar, who will be in Vienna from September 14-17, will take up the issue of the global oil price in his address to the OPEC. "I will speak on the challenges of sustainable development and will raise the issue of Asian premium charged by the OPEC countries," he said.
"Many other bilateral meetings are being lined up," he said.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.