RIL plans to buy stakes in refineries in the United States and West Asia even as it looks at opportunities in oil and gas exploration and production in other countries.
NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to buy stakes in refineries in the United States and West Asia even as it looks at opportunities in oil and gas exploration and production in other countries.
PMS Prasad, chief executive officer and president of the company’s oil and gas business, said on Tuesday, “We are looking at the US and the Middle East (West Asia).” He said the company would evaluate opportunities in these countries and elsewhere before sticking its neck out. “We will only go for projects which make sense to us,” Prasad said.
Meanwhile, Reliance is looking to take over oil and gas exploration acreage in South America and Australia, said Prasad. “We have bid for two to three blocks with Santos (of Australia) in Australia’s latest licensing round (for exploration blocks),” he said.
The company is also seeking exploration blocks in Peru and Columbia. “We are deliberately staying away from discovered or producing blocks as our internal (investment) norms don’t justify the (asking) price,” Prasad told reporters.
RIL has interests in oil and gas exploration blocks in Yemen and Oman. Prasad was in New Delhi in connection with RIL’s gas pricing.
The company presented its views in connection with the recently-conducted limited bidding for natural gas that is likely to flow from its deepwater block discovery in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Sources said RIL conducted a selective bidding among a dozen companies, which threw up a price band of $5.2-5.7 per million British thermal unit.
Asked, Prasad told reporters that the company was at a critical stage and he would not like to elaborate. It was expected to start production from the KG-D6 block in July 2008, he added.
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