News: ONGC wins oil block in Brazil

(PTI 29/11/2006) New Delhi - ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has won an oil exploration block in Brazil.

OVL won the offshore S-M-1103 block in the Santos basin paying 1.5 million reais (0.68 million dollars), a company official said.

The company was among the host of global energy giants that were awarded six blocks in Brazil's eighth annual auction of oil and gas concessions.

"S-M-1103 has potential for natural gas and light oil," he said.

Italy's ENI paid nearly 140-million dollars to outbid Brazil's state oil company Petrobras, a consortium comprised by Norway's Norsk Hydro and Sapin's Repsol YPF, and a separate bid by Shell to win the S-M-857 deep-water block.

The minimum bid for the block was 2 million reais while ENI agreed to pay 307.4 million reais ($ 140 million).

Petrobras one block S-M-982 on its own and three in consortia with Hydro and Repsol.