Videocon , BPCL buy Brazil oil firm

Videocon, a diversified group whose businesses range from power to home appliances, and Bharat PetroResources Ltd are equal partners in a consortium that will buy EnCana Brasil Petroleo from Canadian natural gas producer EnCana Corp and 749793 Alberta Ltd, Videocon said.

Earlier BPCL, which did not disclose financial details, said the deal was for interests in 10 deepwater offshore exploration blocks in four concessions in Brazil.

The sale, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

Indian firms have stepped up the pace of foreign acquisitions, striking deals worth more than $16 billion to late-August this year, up from $6.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, data from Dealogic showed.

State-run BPCL, India’s third-biggest refiner, said earlier this month it would spend up to $370 million on exploration over 2-3 years, targeting small stakes in development and producing fields in West Africa, Brazil, South America and Australia.

BPCL, which has stakes in 14 oil and gas blocks in India and abroad, had set up Bharat PetroResources to spearhead its exploration drive, which it expects will offset under-recoveries in refining and marketing.

Shares in Videocon were up 0.2% at Rs368.3 by 0855 GMT in a firmer Mumbai market BPCL added 0.6% to Rs31. REUTERS

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