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ONGC Videsh Bid for Iranian Gas Field Development

Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) subsidiary, ONGC Videsh Ltd is among the international companies that bid for major gas development projects in Iran. Reliance Petroleum, the leading Indian private energy company, recently withdrew its investments in Iran energy sector under pressure from the USA. The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Murli Deora in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha informed that ONGC Videsh Ltd.(OVL) has submitted a proposal for Master Development Plan (MDP) of Farzad - B gas field, Persian Gulf, Iran to the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) in compliance to the provisions of the Exploration Service Contract (ESC) for Farsi Block. The amount of the investment will depend on the approval of MDP by Iranian authorities.

The Minister further said that some technical observations on the proposed MDP were received from Iranian side and were suitably responded by OVL. Deora also stated that the US Government has put in place sanctions against Iran to deter foreign investment in the country including in the energy sector. Government of India as a matter of policy is opposed to sanctions being placed on any country. It believes that all outstanding issues with Iran should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and negotiation.

In January 2009. Reliance Industries the largest private company in the country, stopped gasoline supplies to Iran after fulfilling all contractual obligations, following a letter written by eight US Congressmen to that country's Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) asking it to immediately suspend all financial assistance to RIL until the company agrees to stop selling gasoline to Iran. The Exim Bank has provided two separate loan guarantees worth $900 million, including a $400-million loan by JPMorgan in August. The loan was for funding RIL's expansion programme.

Vellarpadam Container Terminal will be Ready by December 2009

The construction work of Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) is in progress and is scheduled to be completed on 30th November, 2009. The terminal is scheduled for commissioning in December, 2009. Rail connectivity to ICTT at Vallarpadam is being implemented by M/s. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and the National Highway connectivity to ICTT at Vallarpadam is being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), said Union Minister of Shipping, Shri G. K. Vasan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.