ONGC to Soon Farm Out Stake in CBM Blocks

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will shortly award stakes in its four coal bed methane gas blocks, Business Standard reports.

Companies that bid for ONGC’s stake in January are Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL), Brisbane-based Dart Energy and a consortium of Jindal Steel and Deep Industries.

ONGC intends to farm out 35-45% stake in each of the four CBM blocks—in Jharia and Bokaro in Jharkhand and North Karanpura and South Karanpura in Raniganj, West Bengal.

"We have discussed the proposals received from various players. We would be awarding between 35-45% stake to players who are experienced in the field of CBM," said a senior ONGC executive told Business Standard on the condition of anonymity.

According to ONGC estimates, the Jharia block holds 85 billion cubic metres of gas reserves. North Karanpura holds 62 bn cu metres, Bokaro holds 45 bn and Raniganj North holds 43 bn cubic metres, the newspaper said.