(ET)
Sudan has denied India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation an extension of licence to operate an oil block after the initial contract expired in November 2016. ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state-run firm, had a 25 per cent interest in the 2B block of Sudan and its share in the block’s output was 7,000-8,000 barrels a day. China National Petroleum Corporation and Malaysia’s Petronas are the other partners in the block.
The process of surrendering the block is underway after the Sudan government gave a notice to that effect, a senior ONGC executive said. The notice to surrender came after months of negotiations between the companies and the government yielded no result. ONGC and partners were seeking a licence renewal for 15 years but couldn’t agree to the demands of the Sudanese government.
