Russian mid-sized oil company Bashneft is currently holding talks on the possible sale of a 20-25% stake in its capital to India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Alexander Goncharuk, Bashneft board chairman, said on Monday.
"We are considering ONGC's participation as one of Bashneft's development options...We are discussing a 20-25% stake," Goncharuk said.
"We are holding talks and they are currently in full swing," Goncharuk said, adding that ONGC was planning to acquire the stake in Bashneft not just for the development of the giant Trebs and Titov oilfields.
At the same time, according to Goncharuk, if ONGC becomes one of Bashneft's shareholders, it will participate in all of the company's projects including the development of the Trebs and Titov fields.
Goncharuk also said that Bashneft could attract only one partner for the project. "We are holding talks with LUKoil," he said, adding that the company had already mentioned this several times.
Bashneft became the only bidder for the Trebs and Titov fields during the auction on December 2.
The Trebs and Titov deposits are among the most promising in the Timan-Pechora province with C1 reserves estimated at 78.9 million tonnes (578 million barrels) and 63.4 million tonnes (465 million barrels) of oil respectively.
MOSCOW, March 14 (RIA Novosti)
