<p>The foreign investment arm of India's top oil explorer ONGC is targeting $10-$12 billion of oil and gas asset purchases over the next three years, including more corporate acquisitions, its managing director said.<br><br>ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) hopes to capitalise on cheaper assets after a slump in oil prices and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic efforts to boost the global presence of Indian firms.<br><br>"Earlier it was an asset-based (strategy) but now we are giving good consideration to M&A," Narendra K Verma, managing director of OVL, told the Reuters Global Commodities Summit.<br><br>"Our mandate is huge and we can acquire a larger portfolio through the corporate acquisition route," added Verma, who has overseen $7 billion in deals over four years.<br><br>OVL, which produces about 175,000-180,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its overseas assets, wants to double output by 2018 and increase it six-fold by 2030.<br><br>The firm has stakes in 33 oil and gas projects from Venezuela to South Sudan but its first corporate investment in 2008, buying Russia's Imperial Energy for $2.6 billion, did not turn out as planned with output slumping to 8,000 bpd from an estimated 60,000 bpd.<br><br>Still, Verma said the firm was not put off and was "working on some opportunities where we could see a broader portfolio being available to us."<br><br><strong>Hotspots</strong><br>OVL last month concluded a deal to buy a 15 percent stake in Rosneft's Vankor field to secure access to about 66,000 bpd of oil production at the Siberian field.<br><br>But Verma said Africa and Latin America were likely to be the hotspots for new investment with some companies financially stressed due to high capital expenditure and low oil prices.<br><br>OVL is also better placed than some of its global peers to invest due to the financial strength of its parent, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).<br><br>The firm was in talks with overseas partners to reformulate exploration and development expenditure as current revenue at oil firms had halved due to weaker oil prices, he said.<br><br>OVL also hoped to wrap up talks in two months to refinance $1.7 billion in loans at LIBOR plus 120 basis points maturing in 2021, versus the current LIBOR plus 195 basis points running to 2020, he said.<br><br>ONGC and its Indian partners have submitted a $5-billion revised plan to Iran seeking development rights of Farzad B gas field, Verma said.<br><br>The revised contract offered more flexibility and included a mix of production sharing and service contracts, he said, adding investment could double if infrastructure is built to supply gas to New Delhi.<br><br>(Reuters)</p>
