India eyes $2.5 bln investment in Canada tar sands
Thu Jul 3, 2008 7:38am EDT
MADRID (Reuters) - Indian firms could invest $2-$2.5 billion for stakes in
Canadian tar sands projects, a top official said on Thursday, as part of
efforts to secure overseas energy assets to fuel the country's fast-growing
economy.
Oil Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid
the companies were looking to pick up holdings rather than buy foreign
firms.
Earlier this year, the head of state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (
ONGC.BO: Quote) R.S. Sharma said his firm was interested in tar or oil sands
opportunities in Canada and was willing to make a large investment.
Srinivasan said Indian firms had explored buying stakes in Alberta tar sands
projects two years ago to help make up for stagnating domestic output.
Since then, companies from other countries, including China, South Korea and
Norway, have snapped up northern Alberta unconventional crude assets,
leading some analysts to wonder how much prime acreage remains up for grabs.
Canada's oil sands, the largest deposits of crude oil outside the Middle
East, are the target of more than $100 billion of investment as the world's
oil industry has found that returns amid surging oil prices outweigh the
high cost of development.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCADEL20685120080703
