Executives from Tullow Oil held talks with India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd in Nairobi last week. The London-based firm is looking for a strategic investor for its Kenyan onshore oil project.
A senior official at Kenya’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mines tweeted earlier last week that ministry officials had met the Indian High Commissioner to Kenya along with representatives of ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
“The meeting was positive and the parties agreed to hold further discussions in the coming weeks,” Tullow said in a tweet about the meeting. The tweet added that that the talks had been hosted by the ministry of petroleum and mines.
The Kenyan Ministry of Petroleum and Mines hosted a meeting with Tullow, OVL and IOCL in Nairobi last week as part of Tullow’s ongoing process to secure a strategic investor for Project Oil Kenya. The meeting was positive and the parties agreed to hold further discussions https://t.co/YgLxWEJBaJ
— Tullow Oil plc (@TullowOilplc) July 31, 2022
Tullow said earlier in July it confidently could make good progress in finding an investor for its onshore oil project in the East African country, in the second half of the year.
India’s state-owned firms ONGC Videsh and Indian Oil Corp are in talks to acquire a stake in Tullow Oil Plc’s $3.4 billion project in Kenya, according to people with knowledge of the matter, reported Energy Voice.
Tullow is the current operator of the project and has a 50% stake, while partners Africa Oil Corp. and TotalEnergies SE hold 25% each.
Energy Voice said that the potential deal signals the revival of Kenya’s aspiration to export oil on a commercial scale since Tullow discovered crude in the East African country in 2012. Tullow submitted a final field development program to the government in December, boosting the project that had stalled as the company focused on managing debt and finalising its strategy.
The talks are on-going and the companies could still decide against pursuing a transaction.
