Iran offers India right to develop Oil fields for India's Petroleum requirements

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Iran offers India right to develop Oil fields for India's Petroleum requirements

* Writer: Balaji Reddy, Special Correspondent
* Source: India Daily
* Date: November 16, 2004

Iran and India entered an era of cooperation between the two countries in fulfilling each other's need for Petroleum and Natural Gas. Iran and India are finalising a trade-off of annual Indian purchase of five million tonne of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in return for Indian companies'' participation in developing an Iranian oilfield. The Indian companies could be offered the right to develop a part of Yadavaran or northern Azadegan oilfields or the entire Zafil oilfield, Mehr news agency reports. India already has a deal to invest in Iran's large South Pars gas field. Iran has a $70-billion agreement with China to allocate the development of 51 per cent of the Yadavaran oilfield to Chinese companies against their investing in one of the leading international oil companies. Global market research firm Goldman Sachs expects India's oil consumption to double from today's levels in 10 years. This thirst for fuel drives India's move to acquire overseas oil sources with cash-rich domestic companies - state-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation and Gas Authority India Ltd - snap up energy interests across continents and negotiate deals to carry these fuels across the world. Vital to the negotiations in Iran is India's attempts to wrap up a deal with its neighbour Pakistan on an overland pipeline to carry the Iranian oil to India. The only factor preventing an agreement between the neighbours is the troubled past between the two, but there have been encouraging signs in both countries about this economic imperative, reports say.

인도, 에너지원 확보위해 이란-러시아 적극공략
400억弗 對이란 협정체결..러 유코스 자회사 지분인수 모색

* 필자: 선재규 기자 jksun@yna.co.kr
* 출처: 서울=연합
* 일자: 2005년 1월 8일

(서울=연합뉴스) 선재규 기자= 인도가 중국과의 치열한 에너지원 확보 경쟁에서 괄목할만한 진전을 이뤘다고 파이낸셜타임스가 7일 보도했다.

신문은 인도가 이날 이란과 모두 400억달러 규모의 액화천연가스(LNG) 구매 및 유전.가스전 개발협력 예비협정에 서명했다고 전했다.

마니 샨카르 아이야르 인도 석유장관은 뉴델리에서 이란국영석유회사측과 예비협정에 서명한 후 "가격을 포함해 마지막까지 남아있던 장애들을 모두 해결했다"고 강조했다.

신문은 이란이 인도에 유전.가스전 개발에 동참하는 것을 허용하는 조건으로 LNG 구입을 요구하면서 제시한 가격이 너무 높아 그간 협정 타결이 지연돼 왔다고 전했다.

양측이 합의한 내용은 인도가 오는 2009년부터 파키스탄을 경유해 연간 750만t의 LNG를 25년간 수입하는 대신 2개 이란유전 개발에 참여해 하루 9만배럴의 원유를 보장받는 조건으로 알려졌다.

또 인도가 연간 900만t 규모의 이란 사우스 파르 가스설비 프로젝트에 동참키로 하고 내달말까지 제안서를 제출하는 내용도 포함됐다고 신문은 덧붙였다.

파이낸셜타임스는 또 인도석유천연가스공사(ONGC)가 러시아 석유회사 유코스의 핵심 자회사인 유간스크네프트가스 지분 인수를 위한 20억달러의 입찰에 곧 참여할 것으로 알려졌다고 전했다.

러시아 정부의 입김이 강하게 작용해온 유간스크네프트가스 입찰에는 중국석유총공사(CNPC)도 큰 관심을 갖고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

파이낸셜타임스는 ONGC의 수비르 라하 사장이 최근 회견에서 "중국과 인도가 향후 40년간의 에너지원 확보를 위해 경쟁하고 있다"면서 "지난 70년대 일본과 한국이 그랬듯이 우리도 장기적인 에너지원 확보에 부심하고 있다"고 말했음을 상기시켰다.

신문은 이와 관련해 중국이 130억달러 규모인 미국 석유회사 유노콜 인수를 검토하고 있음을 상기시키면서 일본이 이란 유전개발에 동참하는 식으로 에너지원 확대를 모색하다가 결국 뜻을 이루지 못했음을 교훈삼아 중국은 아예 해외 석유기업을 인수하는 쪽으로 전략을 바꾼게 아니냐는 관측이 나오고 있다고 지적했다.

중국과 마찬가지로 급성장중인 인도는 올해부터 2007년까지 원유 수요가 연간 최소한 3.6% 증가할 것으로 예상되는 상황에서 수요의 약 70%를 차지하는 해외 도입원을 확대하는데 부심해왔다.

India looks to Russia and Iran for energy(위 연합기사의 출처)

* Writer: Ray Marcelo
* Source: Financial Times
* Date: January 7 2005

India earmarked two multibillion dollar energy deals with Iran and Russia on Friday, underlining its rivalry with China in the race to secure oil and gas supplies to fuel rapid economic growth.

In New Delhi, India signed a preliminary agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company unofficially estimated to be worth $40bn that committed the country to import liquefied natural gas and develop two Iranian oilfields and a gas field. Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Indian oil minister, said: “Every last detail has been settled, price too.”

Separately, India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation said it was in talks about investing in part of Yukos, the Russian oil group broken up in a state-backed auction last year.

Officials from New Delhi's petroleum ministry told India's Business Standard newspaper that ONGC may soon place a $2bn bid for a stake in Yuganskneftegas, the main production unit of Yukos.

Subir Raha, ONGC's chairman and managing director, told reporters that the company was “in touch with the concerned Russian entities about the Yukos assets and other opportunities in Russia”.

A spokesman for Mr Raha warned that the deal was in its early stages and that the company was “discouraged” by the liabilities of Yukos, which is being pursued by the Russian authorities for billions of dollars in unpaid taxes.

India's rapidly growing economy is hungry for energy and demand for oil is set to grow at an annual rate of at least 3.6 per cent during 2005-07. India imports about 70 per cent of its crude oil.

A bid by ONGC for a Yuganskneftegas stake could put it in competition with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation, which Russian officials had earlier indicated was their preferred foreign partner for the assets.

Mr Raha, in a recent interview, said India and China were competing to secure energy sources to cover the next 40 years. “What Japan and Korea did up to the 70s, tying up long-term fuel contracts, long-term energy contracts, we are doing now.”

According to the Iranian deal, India will import 7.5m tonnes of LNG starting in 2009 for the next 25 years. India's ONGC will also help develop the Iranian oilfields in exchange for 90,000 barrels a day of crude oil.

On Thursday, the Financial Times revealed that China's state-owned oil giant, CNOOC, was considering a $13bn bid for Unocal of the US in what would be the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company.

Commenting on the Chinese approach, Leo Drollas, deputy chief executive at the Centre for Global Energy Studies, drew a contrast with neighbouring Japan. “They have obviously looked at the whole energy market and looked at the lack of success with the Japanese exploration strategy and decided the best way to buy supply was through a takeover of a private company,” said Mr Drollas.

Additional reporting by Kevin Morrison in London, Neil Buckley in Moscow and Francesco Guerrera in Hong Kong

[홍순명]

이란이 유전개발권을 중국과 인도에게 나눠주면서 연대를 강화하고 있는 듯이 보이는군요.

[백선호]

양다리 작전이네요...

[백선호]

러시아에서 사나 이란에서 사나 둘 다 중국과 파키스탄 때문에 파이프라인은 힘들겠고 유조선으로 실어와야만 하겠네요...

[홍순명]

인도는 "무려 파키스탄을 통과하는" 파이프라인 건설에 대해 파키스탄과 합의를 했다고 합니다.