Essar Energy wins oil block in Nigeria

Mumbai: Essar Group company Essar Energy Holdings Ltd, a unit of Essar Global, has won an offshore oil block in Nigeria with reserves of up to 80 million barrels.

Essar Energy bagged a shallow water offshore exploration block 226 in the African country, industry sources said.

Nigeria had offered 45 exploration blocks in its latest licensing round, to which no Indian company except Essar had responded.

Of the total 45 blocks, 11 were in deep water offshore, 10 shallow water on the continental shelf, 13 onshore in the Niger Delta and 11 in inland basins.

ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL), the joint venture of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp and NRI steel tycoon LN Mittal, had preferential bidding rights over one block, but chose to stay away.

Indian Oil Corp-Oil India Ltd combine, which earlier planned to submit a bid, also stayed away, the sources said, adding that a total of 16 companies bid in the round.