RIL sells 25 percent stake in Yemen oil block for $90 mn

Reliance Industries has sold 25 percent stake in an oil block in Yemen to Indonesia's Medco Energi for about $90 million, the company said on Wednesday.

Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC, a wholly owned subsidiary, signed the "completion documents for divestment of its 25 percent working interest" in the Yemen's Block-9 to Medco Yemen Malik Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk of Indonesia.

The transaction had been approved by the oil ministry of Yemen, RIL said in a statement, and the sale agreement with Medco was effective from Jan 1, 2012.

The stake sale is part of the company's overseas asset restructuring wherein it is cutting exposure in exploration blocks.

In 2001, the company had won Yemen's Block 9 along with Hood Energy and Calvalley Petroleum Inc. RIL and Hood Energy held 25 percent stake each while Calvalley had the remaining 50 percent.

RIL now has 10 overseas oil and gas assets, including two each in Peru, Yemen, Oman and Colombia, and one each in East Timor and Australia.