India approves purchase of ConocoPhillips stake in Kashagan

Indian government has approved the offer of ONGC Videsh Limited to buy a minority stake in Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan from ConocoPhillips for $5.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal writes citing a senior executive of Oil & Natural Gas Corp. To complete the transaction the company still needs an approval from the Kazakhstan government. ONGC Videsh Limited signed the agreement with ConocoPhillips to purchase its 8.4 percent in Kashagan oilfield in November 2012. The company then asked for a permit from the Indian government to purchase the stake from ConocoPhillips. This transaction may become the biggest foreign investment of the Indian oil and gas company. The WSJ writes that the delays in getting the approvals from both Indian and Kazakhstan governments have raised doubts about the deal. Analysts of Eurasia Group said in their last month's report that Kazakhstan government could ban the sale of the asset to the Indian company in favor of a Chinese buyer. Besides, if the deal falls through, this would be a serious setback to India’s plans to purchase foreign assets to secure energy supplies. The country covers 75 percent of its energy needs through import.