ONGC to sell stake, seeks global help to develop fields

India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is offering a stake to global oil companies to help develop challenging fields off the country's east coast, according to a tender document.

The company did not say how big a stake it was offering to a potential partner.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, imports over 80% of its oil needs. The country is keen to monetise its oil and gas resources to cut its import bill.

ONGC is hoping to lure interest from global companies with the "requisite technical expertise and financial strength" to support it in developing its Deen Dayal West field in the Bay of Bengal and ultra-deep discoveries in Krishna Godavari Basin.

The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is June 16, ONGC said in a tender document on its website.