What Did ONGC Win?
The lack of true competition for ONGC over Imperial is likely to be down to several factors. Imperial is clearly somewhat below the radar in terms of its current oil production, but the company does have good growth potential, with proven plus probable reserves in Siberia of 920 million barrels. Indeed, the company plans to increase output to 25,000 boe/d by the end of the year. However, Russian auditors have questioned the size of Imperial’s proven reserves, and the U.K.-based company has run foul of Russian authorities in the past over its reserves classification—although last year Imperial did manage successfully to end a dispute with Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry over this issue. Nevertheless, Imperial’s resource base is well removed from the Indian market, with little likelihood that any future production from the company’s assets in Siberia would actually be sent to India. Moreover, the Russian government may yet insist that ONGC Videsh sell part of Imperial to Rosneft, the
