State-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and Mumbai-based Essar Group have jointly bid for an oil and gas exploration block in Syria. The 50:50 joint venture is aiming to bag the exploration rights in Syria that recently offered seven onshore oil and gas blocks.

An Essar Group spokesperson said, “We are expecting the Syrian authorities to announce the successful bidder in the next 45 days. We will have equal participation in one block for which we have jointly bid with the state government enterprise.”

He added that they have bid for Block XIV in Syria. However, GSPC officials too confirmed the development, but refused to divulge any further detail.

This is the first time GSPC and Essar have bid together for an oil property abroad. Earlier, GSPC had joined hands with players like Niko Resources, GeoGlobal Resources, Hindustan Oil Exploration, Jubilant Oil & Gas and ONGC for bidding in India and overseas.

GSPC has oil and gas blocks in Yemen, Egypt and Australia, Essar Group holds interests in five fields in Myanmar, Madagascar and Nigeria. The E&P business of Ruia-controlled Essar Exploration and Production (EEPL) has participating interests in CB-ON/3 in Mehsana, Gujarat, CR-ON-90/1 in Cachar, Assam and Blocks A2 (Offshore) & L (Onshore) in Myanmar.

EEPL has also been awarded Ratna & R-Series development fields with 50% stake, a proven field having more than 500 million barrels of oil reserves in place in the Western offshore of India and a coal bed methane block, RG(East)-CBM-2001/1 in Ranigunj, West Bengal. Three onshore oil & gas blocks in Madagascar, Africa, one in Nigeria and two in Assam, have also recently been awarded. 

Economic Times