Vedanta to ink deals for 41 oil, gas blocks

Ending the confusion over signing deals under the Open Acreage Licensing (OALP-I), London Stock Exchange-listed Anil Agarwalled Vedanta Resources has received shareholder and board approvals for signing contracts for 41 oil and gas blocks on October 1.

The company had to approach the shareholders because the deal with the government was considered a “related-party transaction” under British law. This comes when Agarwal is trying to delist Vedanta Resources from the LSE. Volcan Investments, a familycontrolled entity of Agarwal, is buying stake worth around $1.03 billion, valuing Vedanta at $3.07 billion.

Volcan owns 67 per cent in the company and has offered $10.89 a Vedanta share.

The shareholders on September 19 cleared the revenue-sharing contract with the government with 95.99 per cent votes, while the company got clearance from its board for investment in the blocks. industry source.

“We have got stakeholder approval and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), are ready to sign contracts on the date scheduled,” Oil India Ltd (OIL), GAIL (India), Hindustan said a company executive. Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) and Bharat

Though the programme was scheduled Petro-Resources won the other blocks. for September 6, the Directorate General of During the exploration stage, the 41 blocks Hydrocarbons (DGH) had to cancel it barely may require around $500 million. The current 48 hours before the contracts were supposed round grabbed attention after the country's to be signed. Later, it was rescheduled for largest player, ONGC, ended up winning September 24 but was postponed to October only two blocks despite bidding for 30 blocks. 1, said a person close to the development. OIL, a state-run company, won nine

Government officials had cited Vedanta’s blocks, while three companies — state-run non-readiness as a reason for the last-minute GAIL (India), HOEC, and Bharat Petro-cancellation because the firm had won 41 of Resources — got one block each. The 55 55 hydrocarbon blocks that were on offer during blocks under OALP are spread across 10 sedimentary the current rounds. basins, covering 60,000 square km.

However, an industry source stated the The current round is vital because India is DGH might have gone ahead announcing targeting meeting a share of increasing the occasion without informing the companies demand through domestic production and concerned. “Since Vedanta is a Londonlisted targets to reduce imports by 10 per cent by company, it could get clearance only 2022. India is the largest consumer of oil and after the blocks were awarded, which happened petroleum in the products latter half after of the August,” US and said China. an