met with ms, page-34

Thanks guys...

This is probably what Smyth was refering to regards the Indian competition for the Refinery. No specifics on the offshore blocks they are after.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Energy/Oil__Gas/OVL_makes_1_bn_offer_for_three_blocks_in_Angola/articleshow/2916893.cms


ANGOLA: India's ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has made a one-billion-dollar-offer to develop three offshore oil blocks in Angola.

OVL, along with two other oil majors, has made a proposal to Angola for development of the three oil exploration blocks that currently have Sinopec of China and Angola's national oil firm Sonangol as equity participants.

India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh took up OVL's case for a stake in the blocks that may hold sizable oil reserves, when he met Angola's Petroleum Minister Desiderio da Costa here.

"The Petroleum Minister has promised to expedite the proposal which has been pending (for sometime)," Ramesh said.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest crude producer, has proven oil reserves of over 10 billion barrels. The OPEC-member country plans to increase average output to two million barrels a day by the end of this year.

India also expressed interest in building a 200,000- barrel per day oil refinery in the port of Lobito at an estimated cost of $5-6 billion, Ramesh said.

In March last year, Sonangol ended talks with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) over investing in the plant, which was then estimated to cost $3.7 billion.

During a visit of India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma to Angola last year, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos had offered a 30 per cent stake to India in the refinery.

"Not much progress has been made since then and we do not want to lose this opportunity now. India has again expressed its interest in participating in the refinery and will expedite the process," Ramesh said.