Japan''s Inpex to buy 26 percent in Indian oil, gas block 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's largest oil explorer Inpex Corp. said Monday that it will acquire a 26 percent interest from India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) exploration block KG-DWN-2004/6, offshore India.

The block, located in the deep water of Krishna Godavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal, covers an area of 10,907 sq km with a water depth of approximately 3,000 m, the Tokyo based firm said in a statement.

The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions including Indian government approval, it said, without disclosing the value of the deal. This is the first case for Inpex to participate in oil and gas exploration activities in India since its business integration between the former Inpex and Teikoku Oil Co. in 2008.

ONGC will continue as the operator of the block with a 34 percent stake. Other partners in the block include state gas utility GAIL India Ltd., Gujarat State Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Oil India Ltd.

In the shallow water area of the Krishna Godavari Basin, several oil and gas fields have been discovered as the result of aggressive exploration work from 1990s, Inpex said. ONGC has also made discoveries in the deep and ultra deep water of Krishna Godavari Basin in the neighboring block.

"By highlighting the recent improvements of oil and gas exploration and development technology in the deep water, the block is expected to have large scale reserves of oil and natural gas," said Inpex.