ONGC Acquires Equinor’s Stake in Azerbaijan Oilfields and BTC Pipeline for $60 Million

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has purchased Norwegian firm Equinor’s stake in an Azerbaijan oilfield and a related pipeline for $60 million. This move includes a 0.615% interest in the offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field and a 0.737% share in the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company.

Acquisition

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the coming months, raising OVL’s stake in both the ACG field and the BTC pipeline. Currently, OVL holds a 2.31% stake in the ACG field and a 2.36% stake in the BTC pipeline.

Equinor had earlier agreed to sell all its assets in Azerbaijan to SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. This included a 7.27% stake in the ACG oil fields, an 8.71% interest in the BTC pipeline, and a 50% share in the Karabakh field. SOCAR already held significant stakes in these assets.

Stake Acquired

OVL initially acquired a 2.72% stake in ACG in March 2013. The ACG contract was extended until 2049, but international oil companies saw their stakes reduced, with OVL’s share dropping from 2.72% to 2.31%.

BP operates the ACG field with a 30.37% stake, and other stakeholders include Japanese firms and ExxonMobil. The ACG field is a large offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea, operated by BP since 1999. The field has been developed in phases, with a seventh production platform commissioned in early 2024.

Oil Transpostation

The BTC pipeline transports oil from the ACG field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, linking the Sangachal terminal on the Caspian Sea to the Ceyhan marine terminal on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

OVL is involved in 32 oil and gas projects in 15 countries, including Vietnam and Venezuela, producing about 200,000 barrels of oil and natural gas daily from these assets.