The Board of Directors of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has approved an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in one or more tranches by ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) in Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (BREML). The announcement was made through a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Tuesday.
BREML is a subsidiary of OVL, with a 60 percent shareholding, while its joint venture partner, Oil India Limited (OIL), holds the remaining 40 percent stake.
In addition to the investment approval, the ONGC board has sanctioned the sponsorship of a senior loan by OVL Overseas IFSC Ltd (OOIL) to Moz LNG1 Financing Company Ltd (Moz LNG1) of up to USD 379.30 million (~ Rs 32,707.04 million) for the Area 1 Mozambique Project. OOIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OVL, while Moz LNG1 is an associate of ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited (OVRL), another wholly-owned subsidiary of OVL.
The company has also committed to extending guarantee support to Moz LNG1 against the sponsor senior loan of up to USD 379.30 million, as per the regulatory filing.
ONGC Videsh currently holds a 16 percent interest in the Mozambique Rovuma Area-1 Offshore Project. This includes a direct 10 percent participating interest held by ONGC Videsh and an additional 6 percent interest held through its 60 percent shareholding in BREML.
Spanning approximately 2.6 million acres, Offshore Area 1 is located within the Rovuma Basin, around 40 km off the northern coast of Mozambique. The area is home to the Prosperidade and Golfinho/Atum complexes, which comprise multiple deep-water gas discoveries, including Windjammer, Barquentine, Lagosta, Camarao, Golfinho, Orca, and Atum.
These gas fields are estimated to hold approximately 75 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable natural gas, making them one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world.
