Sudan owes ONGC Videsh $560 mn in unpaid dues: Govt to Parliament

Sudan owes ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) a total of USD 560 million in unpaid oil dues and cost of pipeline built by the Indian firm built for the African nation, the government told Parliament on Monday.

OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), had a 25 per cent stake in Block 2A&4 in Sudan. Sudan had since 2011 not paid OVL and partners for oil it bought from the block.

"The amount due to OVL on account of over lifting of crude oil under the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) is USD 339.75 million and under sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is USD 90.94 million, which amounts to USD 430.69 million in total," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

OVL had also not been paid for the 741-km-long pipeline it built from Khartoum to Port Sudan.

The company initiated arbitration proceedings against the Government of Sudan to recover the dues and has terminated the ..