ONGC Secures US License to Expand Venezuela Oil Operations

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has secured a license from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), removing sanctions-related restrictions that previously curtailed its activities in Venezuela. This approval allows ONGC Videsh, the company's overseas arm, to manage finances and expand production at the San Cristobal and Carabobo projects, where it holds stakes of 40% and 11%, respectively.

ONGC aims to increase its Venezuelan oil production from approximately 12,000-15,000 barrels per day to 30,000 barrels per day within one year. The company is also negotiating with the Venezuelan government to assume operatorship of projects currently managed by the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). Financially, the license enables the company to pursue the recovery of between $500 million and $600 million in outstanding dividends.

Director-Finance Anupam Agarwal stated the company is "very bullish for Venezuela," noting that ONGC will apply expertise from its domestic shallow and onshore fields in Western India to Venezuelan assets. This strategic expansion aligns with India's effort to diversify crude imports and replace Middle Eastern barrels amid geopolitical disruptions, including the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. India has since become the second-largest buyer of Venezuelan crude after the United States.