Mumbai: A consortium of Reliance Industries, China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) and Argentina's Pluspetrol has won the exploration rights for a gas block in Peru, helping the Mukesh Ambani-led company expand its presence in Latin America.

Another Indian company, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, has teamed with up Enigma Oil and Gas Exploration (Pty) Ltd to win onshore blocks 147, 159 and 153 in Peru's 2008 auction that saw bidding for 17 of the 22 oil and gas blocks on offer.

Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC, a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, along with Chinese government-owned CNPC and Pluspetrol will explore gas in block 155, in the southern highland department of Puno, near the border with Bolivia.

The Reliance-CNPC-Pluspetrol consortium offered royalty of 24.58 per cent to Peruvian government while the Jindal-Enigma team offered 30.02 to 32.03 per cent royalty, sources said.

Reliance has steadily been increasing its presence in Peru since it acquired a 90 per cent stake in block 141 from Pan Andean Resources Plc in April this year.

Under the terms of acquisition, Pan Andean will dilute its interest in block 141 to 10 per cent, in return for Reliance Industries incurring all exploration costs through commercial discovery. Following a commercial discovery of an agreed size, Pan Andean will reimburse Reliance for its share of the exploration costs.

Block 141, covering an area of 0.5 million hectares in the Andean mountain plateau, is believed to hold oil reserves. Reliance has committed $40 million investment in seismic surveys and drilling.

In May, Reliance teamed up with Woodside Petroleum to acquire 50 per cent in block 108 in Peru from Pluspetrol Energy SA. Reliance got 30 per cent, while Woodside Petroleum got 20 per cent. Pluspetrol Energy will retain the remaining 50 per cent stake.

And, on 29 June, Reliance acquired 10 per cent stake in Lot 39 in northern Peru from Burligton Resources Inc.

Excluding Peru, Reliance has 11 overseas oil and gas assets. It recently won permit to explore in block W06-05 in Bonaparte Basin in Western Australia and has two blocks in Iraq, three in Yemen, one in East Timor and two each in Oman and Columbia.