State-run firms Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) signed a contract on Monday to explore oil in Libya, an Oil India statement said. "This historic agreement is the first production sharing contract which has been won by the OIL/IOC consortium through competitive bidding in the Libyan EPSA (Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement) Round Four," OIL said.
The contract, signed with Libya's National Oil Co, follows a successful bid by the Indian firms for Block No 86 in the Sirte basin of the oil exporting country.
IOC, India's largest refiner, and OIL, a small exploration firm, have teamed up to scout for foreign petroleum assets in addition to secure oil supplies for the country, which imports 70 percent of its crude oil requirement.
The government is encouraging IOC and OIL to bid for foreign projects as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp, which is leading India's efforts to buy oil assets abroad, already has investments in several foreign projects.
ONGC, which competes with Chinese firms for overseas projects, has stakes in projects in several countries including Russia, Vietnam, Sudan, Myanmar, Australia and Egypt, and is planning investments in Venezuela.