Hyderabad, October 13: Making a foray into oil and gas exploration, the State-owned Andhra Pradesh Gas Infrastructure Corporation (APGIC) has won four of the five blocks in the K-G Basin that it bid recently.
The Corporation participated in the bidding in partnership with a consortia led by the ONGC, the country’s biggest public sector oil exploration corporation, and included British Gas, Oil India and NTPC.
Of the four blocks, one is a deepwater block adjacent to Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) D-6. The other three are shallow-water blocks.
The APGIC, a special purpose vehicle floated by the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and AP Power Generation Corporation (AP Genco), will own shares of 10 per cent each in the four blocks. Many other companies like Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Jindal, and multinational ones too, bid for the blocks.
Speaking to Express, APIIC chairman BP Acharya said the APGIC succeeded in its very first attempt to enter the oil and gas exploration sector. The consortia will restrict itself to surveys over the next four years before taking up production. The APGIC will invest about Rs 140 crore over the next four years. “The idea is to act as facilitator and ensure that gas from the K-G Basin is used optimally to meet the power and fertiliser needs of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
The APGIC is a special purpose vehicle with equity sharing of 51 per cent and 49 per cent by APIIC and AP Genco respectively. It was established on the lines of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation during the tenure of the late former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy based on the recommendations of Director General of Hydrocarbons VK Sibal.
–Agencies