ONGC Videsh, or OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC, is also actively pursuing offshore opportunities in Angola but cannot confirm that it is among the companies approached to take a stake in a block that ExxonMobil wants to quit, he said in an interview.
"They have approached a few companies to gauge their interest," Thomas said. "The general policy is that Angola is one of the countries where we have been keen to make an entry," he said, adding that Angolan state oil company Sonangol has pre-emption rights that it could exercise.
India's Economic Times said Monday that OVL would put in a bid for ExxonMobil's interest in Block 31 offshore Angola. Total Wednesday confirmed that it was considering quitting its participation in the block, where 19 discoveries have been made.
Angolan Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, who was in New Delhi this week for the Petrotech 2010 conference and exhibition, said Monday Sonangol is in talks with ExxonMobil and Total over their participation in block 31.
Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora said Sunday local oil companies were interested in acquiring interests in Angolan oil blocks and that India is hoping to participate in the African country's delayed oil licensing round in 2011.
"The fact is that it is a very prospecting country for oil and gas and for us as an upstream player, we would like to be in the right places and we believe that Angola is one of these places," Thomas said.
OVL has bought a data package for blocks that Angola has offered for the forthcoming bidding round. "When they announce the actual bids, we will participate," said Thomas.
The company is now "very focused" on Latin America, Africa and Russia, where "we have a good property," he said, referring to two operating blocks and one participating block in the Sakhalin-1 field operated by ExxonMobil.
"We hope to have something finalized in Kazakhstan. Discussions have been ongoing for an exploration block in the Caspian Sea ... it's in a very good area southwest of Kashagan and adjacent to discoveries already made ... we are quite upbeat about it," Thomas said.
OVL signed a heads of agreement with KazMunaiGaz in January 2009 for the Satpayev Block in the Caspian Sea.
Managing director and CEO R S Butola said OVL was producing more than 8.8 million mt/year of oil and gas, having grown by 12-13% annually in recent years mainly through acquisitions and organic growth.
"Now we have reached a stage where we tend to be bottoming out and we want to make sure that we don't get stuck in that plateau and we continue to move up," Butola said in the interview.
Thomas said that in that context, OVL was looking at oil sands and further acquisition of producing properties "wherever they may be."
OVL already has a stake in the Carabobo heavy oil block with Indian companies IOC and OIL in partnership with Repsol and Petronas and is looking at Canada though Thomas said the geology was better in Venezuela.
"We need to balance ourselves by having something in Canada as well," he said.
But Iran is proving a challenge, Butola and Thomas said, referring to tough US sanctions, which were recently tightened to deter foreign oil and gas companies from investing in Iran's energy sector as part of an international effort to force Tehran to abandon its controversial nuclear program.
Iran Tuesday told OVL and its joint venture partners Hinduja Group that they have three months to decide on taking a 40% stake in Phase 12 of the offshore South Pars gas field before talks are permanently abandoned, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The Indian companies have been negotiating with Iran for more than three years on the project that is expected to require investment of $7.8 billion.
The National Iranian Oil Co., which had previously set a deadline of March for the agreement to be finalized, has told the two Indian companies they expect an agreement by January 2011 or the talks are off.
Sharma suggested that OVL would not be rushed into signing up for the South Pars project because of the ultimatum, noting that EU sanctions, which were recently amended, imposed even tougher terms on oil and gas investments.
Tehran's ultimatum came just days before US President Barack Obama is due to arrive in the Indian capital on an official visit. Oil industry sources say Indian oil and gas companies will seek an exemption and argue that as an energy-dependent country, India needs access to upstream assets abroad in order to satisfy demand for energy in one of Asia's fastest growing economies.
Sharma noted that OVL's investments in Iran were made before the latest round of sanctions. He said that in the case of the offshore Farsi field, where OVL is operator with a 40% interest, discoveries have already been made since the contract was signed in 2002. Other shareholders in the block are Indian Oil Corp. with 40% and Oil India Ltd with the remaining 20%.
"We have to find ways to do business. Iran is more general ... nothing to do with them or us. It's the issue at large, which is sanctions," said Butola.
"We have reservations as to how we can participate there ... the current sanctions being what they are, we find it quite challenging ..." said Thomas.
Referring to Obama's forthcoming visit, the matter is "something for political leaders to discuss," he added.
Regardless of politics, OVL needs "confidence that the investment that we make is adequately protected," the company's upstream boss said.
