Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)

Energy
NSE:ONGC
India

[email protected]

ONGC Videsh (OVL)

As of May 17, 2021, Iowa's Public Employee's Retirement System lists ONGC on its Iran Scrutinized Companies List.

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In January 2021, the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury listed ONGC as a company engaged in prohibited activities in Iran pursuant to P.L. 2012, c. 25 ("Chapter 25"). 

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As of December 2020, Rhode Island continues to list ONGC as having active investment in Iran's energy sector of at least greater than $50 million. 

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On October 14, 2020, ONGC remained on the Tennesse Department of General Services list of persons it determines engage in investment activities in Iran, as described in 12-12-105.

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As of July 2020, ONGC remains on the Pennsylvania Treasury's List of Scrutinized Companies Determined as Having Involvement In Iran because of oil-related investment of US $20 million since 1996. 

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ONGC is listed on the 4Q 2020 Minnesota State Board of Investment List of Unauthorized (Scrutinized) Iran Companies.

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On September 19, 2007, ONGC was added to the Florida State Board of Administration List of Prohibited Investments (Scrutinized Companies) due to its involvement in Iran. As of March 9, 2021, ONGC remains on the SBA list of prohibited investments. 

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ONGC is listed on the August 5, 2020 California Department of General Services, "Entities Prohibited from Contracting with Public Entities in California per the Iranian Contracting Act, 2010" list.

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In 2020, the U.S. state of Mississippi listed ONGC on its state lists of Companies Doing Business with the Iranian Petroleum/Natural Gas, Nuclear and Military Sectors, rendering it ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

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"Oil and Natural Gas Company of India (ONGC) holds stakes in at least one Iranian gas field and is reportedly considering others. In 2013, it was reported that the company was no longer involved in the development of oilfields in Iran. However, through a subsidiary, it remains a large purchaser of Iranian crude. ONGC was not on CalSTRS’ 2009 Iran list but had already been designated as “Divested and Restricted” for ties to Sudan. In early 2010, CalSTRS also designated the company as “Divested and Restricted” for ties to Iran and maintained that status in 2020."

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As of October 2019, ONGC remains on the Pennsylvania Treasury's List of Scrutinized Companies Determined as Having Involvement In Iran because of oil-related investment of US $20 million since 1996. 

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In 2019 ONGC was listed on the Texas Comptroller List of Companies Engaging in Scrutinized Business Operations in Iran.  

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As of August 15, 2019, the state of Iowa listed ONGC on its Iran scrutinized companies list.

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On June 30, 2019, New Jersey listed ONGC on its state list of entities determined, based on credible information, to be engaged in prohibited activities in Iran.

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ONGC is listed on the June 4, 2019 and July 12, 2019 Florida State Board of Administration list of prohibited investments (Scrutinized companies) for Iran related business.

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ONGC is listed on the June 2019 Alaska Retirement Management Board, Companies Doing Material Business with Iran list.

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ONGC is listed on the March 2019 Alaska Retirement Management Board, Companies Doing Material Business with Iran list.

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ONGC is listed on the January 2019 Entities prohibited from Contracting with Public Entities in California list.

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Oil and Natural Gas Company of India (ONGC) holds stakes in at least one Iranian gas field and is reportedly considering others. In 2013, it was reported that the company was no longer involved in the development of oilfields in Iran. However, through a subsidiary, it remains a large purchaser of Iranian crude. ONGC was not on CalSTRS’ 2009 Iran list but had already been designated as “Divested and Restricted” for ties to Sudan. In early 2010, CalSTRS also designated the company as “Divested and Restricted” for ties to Iran and has maintained that designation in 2018. ONGC is listed on the December 31, 2018 CalSTRs Portfolio of companies identified as possibly having ties to Iran and from which CalSTRs has divested from and restricted in 2018.

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In 2018 and 2019 Tennessee used the New York list of “Entities determined to be non-responsive bidders/offerers pursuant to the New York State Iran Divestment Act of 2012.” ONGC was included on this list in 2018 and 2019. Tennessee states "Inclusion on this list would make a person ineligible to contract with the state of Tennessee, if a person ceases its engagement in investment activities in Iran, it may be removed from the list."

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In 2018 the U.S. states of Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Ohio listed ONGC as an Iran restricted company rendering ONGC ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

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In 2017 the U.S. states of Alaska, California, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Rhode Island and South Carolina, listed ONGC on its list of companies doing material business with Iran rendering ONGC ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

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"The overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp has submitted a revised plan to develop the giant Farzad B gas block in Iran, including a commitment to spend more than $3 billion, a senior executive said on Tuesday. ONGC Videsh expects to produce between 1 billion and 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of gas in five years from the start of development of the block, N. K. Verma, the company's managing director told Reuters in Mumbai on Tuesday. India is the second-largest buyer of Iranian crude, and was among the few countries to continue trade with Iran while the country faced Western sanctions over its nuclear programme." (Reuters,  "ONGC Submits Revised Plan For Farzad Gas Field In Iran," 4/4/2017).

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In 2016 and 2017 Tennessee used the South Carolina list of "Entities Ineligible to Contract with the State of South Carolina or any Political Subdivision of the State per the Iran Divestment Act of 2014, S.C. Code Ann." as its list of persons it determines engage in investment activities in Iran. ONGC was included on this list in 2016 and 2017. "Inclusion on this list would make a person ineligible to contract with the state of Tennessee, if a person ceases its engagement in investment activities in Iran, it may be removed from the list."

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ONGC Videsh “is the wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)” http://www.ongcvidesh.com/company/about-ovl/

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"India has raised the issue of getting back an oil field from Iran, where domestic companies have invested but hadn't begun producing natural gas because of international sanctions against Tehran, according to a top government official. ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Ltd., India's flagship exploration firm along with Oil India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., had invested about $100 million in Farzad-B field. The companies have explored and discovered oil and gas in 2008. The oil field holds about 13 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves. 'The production could not be started because of the sanctions' against Tehran, the official at India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas told The Wall Street Journal on condition of anonymity. New Delhi has also conveyed its concerns regarding investments and wanted Tehran to reallocate the block back to the Indian investors in the wake of upcoming exploration rules that could put those investments in jeopardy... ONGC Chairman D.K. Sarraf said the talks were aimed at keeping the two sides engaged on the issue." (WSJ, "India Oil Ministry Official Said He Raised Oil Field Issue with Iran," 4/21/15)

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"An Indian delegation will visit Iran this week to scout for investment opportunities ahead of an anticipated nuclear deal between the OPEC-member and world powers that would soften sanctions against the country, sources privy to the plan said. Officials from India's finance and oil ministries and executives from ONGC Videsh and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd are part of the delegation that will hold meeting with their Iranian counterparts on Saturday, the sources said. India is Iran's biggest oil client after China although its imports from Tehran have declined under pressure from western sanctions." (Reuters, "Indian delegation to visit Iran to discuss oil deals- sources," 4/16/15)

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“The US administration has moved ONGC Videsh [OVL] out of a list of companies known to have energy ties with Iran, but retained parent ONGC on the list, an act for which it can be sanctioned by Washington. The US Government Accountability Office, in a recently released report, moved ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), and three others, including Petronet LNG, out of the list…’Since our last report in December 2012, we have moved four firms -- INA (of Croatia), ONGC Videsh Ltd, Petronet LNG, and Sasol -- to the "withdrawn" category,’ the GAO report said. The US Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) provides for sanctions against persons, including foreign firms, investing more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector in any 12-month period. GAO listed four of the 43 firms identified in 2010 as having ‘active’ energy ties with Iran. These included ONGC and Oil India Ltd…Previously, IOC, along with OVL, ONGC, OIL and Petronet, were listed as firms that had active ties with Iran. OVL and OIL explored for oil and gas in Iran's Farsi block and proposed investing $5.5 billion to produce gas from the 21.68 trillion cubic foot discovery they made in the offshore area located near the Saudi Arabian border…But OVL, the operator of the project, never invested a penny and put field development on the back-burner.“ (Economic Times, “US moves ONGC Videsh out of list of firms with ties to Iran,” 4/10/14) 

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"A U.S. Congress investigative arm has identified four companies that did business with Iran's energy sector over roughly the past year, despite global sanctions. Based on open-source information, the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday pinpointed two companies in China and another two in India dealing with Tehran's energy industry during a 13-month period ending in November. Any or all of the parties could come under new global pressure to cease their joint projects...Oil India and another Indian firm, Oil and Natural Gas, each told U.S. auditors they had divested from gas field development efforts noted in their annual reports. However, the investigators still labeled the firms as ‘active’ collaborators with Iran during the recently concluded reporting period." (Global Security Newswire, “Iran's Business Partners Face New Sanctions Scrutiny,” 1/9/14)

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In 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 ONGC was listed on the Texas Pension Review Board List of Scrutinized Companies doing business in Iran pursuant to Chapter 807.054, Government Code.  

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"Iran has offered the first such pact globally since the 1979 revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Iran to an Indian consortium comprising ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC) and Oil India Ltd, which won a bid for the block in 2002 from National Iranian Oil Co... OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC), is the operator of the block, in which it holds a 40% stake. IOC has an equal stake and the balance 20% is held by OIL." (The Wall Street Journal, "Indian firms to ink production-sharing contract with Iran," 6/16/2013)

"Indian state-run firms led by ONGC's contract for exploring the gas-rich Farsi block too is a service contract which if converted into a production sharing regime would mean that New Delhi can get close to 13 trillion cubic feet of gas." (Reuters, "Iran offers new oil contracts to lure India," 5/4/2013) 

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"India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s plans to develop a gas field in Iran are in the balance as the company's exposure to the sanctions-hit OPEC member may hit aspirations for U.S. energy assets, Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said on Tuesday... Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of ONGC, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, is one of the key Indian oil clients of Iran. ONGC is in talks with the Iranian government to develop the Farzad B gas field in the Farsi block. It also has a 25 percent stake in the Greater Nile project in Sudan. Indian companies including Oil India Ltd and ONGC plan to buy a part of ConcoPhillips' Canadian oil sands assets worth around $5 billion... The Indian government has charged ONGC with securing energy supplies overseas to fuel the country's fast-growing economy. ONGC invests in foreign assets through is unit ONGC Videsh Ltd. A year ago ONGC Videsh announced a shift in its policy when its then managing director, Jomen Thomas, said his firm sought to buy assets in politically less risky countries like North America to cut its risk and boost output... ONGC last month announced the discovery of more oil reserves in its D1 field off India's western coast." (Reuters, "India ONGC says presence in Iran, Sudan may affect US plans," 9/4/2012)

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In 2011, ONGC was added to the Pennsylvania Treasury's List of Scrutinized Companies Determined as Having Involvement in Iran because of oil-related investment of US $20 million since 1996.
 

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"Major Indian energy companies, including Oil & Natural Gas Corp., have been exploring how to jointly develop energy resources with Iranian partners." (AFP, "Indian oil giant optimistic over Iran supply," 1/6/11)

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"The Indian government has asked its public sector oil firms to seek legal opinion on the impact of the latest round of US sanctions on Iran on their investment in the Persian Gulf nation, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said here. The US administration had in May named Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India Ltd, IndianOil, Hinduja Group and Petronet LNG among the 41 firms worldwide having energy ties with Iran, an act for which it may impose sanctions on them." (Financial Express, "Oil PSUs seeking legal opinion on Iran sanctions," July 22, 2010)

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"India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) and the Hinduja group will jointly get a 40-percent stake in Iran's South Pars-12 project, Managing Director of Iran's national oil company Seifollah Jashnsaz said." (Reuters, "India, Angola cos to get stake in Iran project," 12/1/09)

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"The enormous New York State Common Retirement Fund plans to divest $86.2 million in investments from nine companies doing business in Sudan and Iran...The decision comes after two years of reviewing these companies, the potential risk of the investments and, in some cases, humanitarian efforts in these countries."We don't expect our investments to benefit regimes that support genocide and terrorism," said DiNapoli.  The fund plans to divest out of $86 million in Gazprom (OGZPY), Inpex (1605.TO), Lukoil (LUKOY), Oil And Natural Gas Corp (500312.BY), OMV (OMVKY), Petroleo Brasilia (PBR), Statoil (STO), Wartsila OYJ and Sinopec Corp. DiNapoli said the firms were chosen because "they failed to respond or we were not satisfied with their responses" when asked to provide information to the fund on the investments and their risks." (Dow Jones Newswires, "NY Comptroller To Divest $86.2M In State Pension Fund Investments," 6/30/09)

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"India's ONGC, along with Indian Oil Corp and state-owned Oil India, has announced plans to pursue a $5 billion project to develop the Farzad field in the Gulf.  For ONGC's part, they hold a 40% interest in the consortium." (Reuters, 6/26/2009)

No response at this time.