(ET)
ONGC and its Chinese and Malaysian partners have decided to exit their oil blocks in Sudan, frustrated by the years of reluctance by the Sudanese government to pay for the oil it lifts from these blocks. ONGC has been engaged in an arbitration with Sudan for more than a year to recover its oil dues that have now climbed to $500 million.
ONGC owns 25% stake in a joint venture that operates blocks 2A and 4 in Sudan whose output the local government had been lifting but not paying for since 2011. The balance stakes in the two blocks are split between China’s CNPC (40%), Malaysia’s Petronas (30%) and Sudan’s Sudapet (5%).
