DNA India: India to Seek Rights for Developing Iranian Gas Field

Buoyed by Iran's historic nuclear accord with world powers to end sanctions, India will ask Tehran for rights to develop ONGC-discovered Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf even as it prepares to pay US $6.5 billion in past oil dues.

Indian firms have so far shied away from investing in Iran for the fear of being sanctioned by the US and Europe.

The same was deterring New Delhi from claiming rights to invest nearly US $7 billion in the biggest gas discovery ever made by an Indian firm abroad.

But with Iran and six world powers sealing an accord to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in return for ending sanctions, India is making a renewed pitching for rights to develop 12.8 Trillion cubic feet of gas reserves ONGC Videsh Ltd had found in 2008.

"We have been in negotiations with Iran over development of Farzad-B gas field. Now that sanctions will ease, we expect Iran to give us the developmental rights," OVL Managing Director Narendra K Verma told PTI here. MORE