India's state-run Indian Oil Corp and Oil India Ltd. have won a licence to look for oil in Libya in their first joint foray overseas, according to a Monday report.
The two companies won a bid to explore onshore Block-086 in "the highly prospective Sirte basin," the <i>Press Trust of India</i> news agency quoted Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officials as saying.
IOC and Oil India forged an alliance last month to look for oil and gas in other countries. Under the terms of the licence, IOC and Oil India will get 18.4 per cent of any future production in the block, with the remaining 81.6 per cent going to Libya's national oil company, <i>PTI</i> added. If oil is found in the licence area, Libya will fund half of the exploration and development costs.
Oil India will be the operator of the block, part of the first offering of concessions by Libya after the lifting of US sanctions, the report said.
Three US oil companies won 11 of the 15 Libyan oil exploration and production sharing agreements contested by 56 international companies, it said.
Indian officials said the companies will bid for at least two out of the 40 licenses Libya proposes to offer in a second round next month, it added.
