Mumbai: Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) and Eni of Italy will swap participating interests in exploration blocks located in India and Congo Brazzaville under two parallel agreements signed between the two companies.

Through the first agreement, Eni acquires a 34 per cent participating interest in the 10,000 sq km deepwater block MN-DWN-2002/1, located in the Bay of Bengal, with water depth going in excess of 2,000 meters.

This block lies in an area with high exploration potential. ONGC had recently confirmed the discovery of commercial reserves of gas in the Mahanadi, off the coast of Orissa. This agreement would provide the Eni with a collaborative partnership to meet technological challenges in the area.

Eni will apply, in this new partnership, the exploration experience and leading edge technology it has developed from its other international deepwater operations.

The agreement also envisages the potential for a joint operation between Eni and ONGC in the development phase.

The second agreement gives ONGC Videsh Ltd a 20 per cent participating interest in the MTPN exploration block, operated by Eni, located in the deepwater offshore of Congo Brazzaville, an area where Eni has a long lasting presence.

The block is situated in the known petroliferous Lower Congo Basin where substantial discoveries have already been made. Eni has already discovered oil and gas in this block. Eni at present is operating the block with Exxon Mobil as the other partner.

The agreements were signed by Roberto Poli, chairman of Eni and R S Butola, managing director of ONGC Videsh Ltd for Congo Brazzaville and D K Pande, director (exploration), ONGC for Mahanadi deep water block.