New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of state-run exploration firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has sold one million barrels of crude oil out of its share from a Sudan oil project to China for over $ 25 million, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Sumitra Mahajan told Rajya Sabha on August 19.

"ONGC-Nile Ganga B V, the wholly-owned subsidiary of OVL has sold one million barrels of crude oil out of its share from the Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP) in Sudan, to China. The company has received a revenue of $ 25.01 million (Rs 117.55 crore) out of this sale," she said in a written reply to the Upper House of Parliament.

OVL had earlier this year bought out Canadian Talisman Energy's 25 per cent stake in 260,000 barrels a day Sudan project for $ 720 million. OVL's share in the producing oil field is over 3 million tonnes of crude oil annually.

"OVL can sell its share of crude oil from the Sudan Project in the Far East Asian countries like China and Japan and in the Mediterranean market. The profit that accrues from such sales would depend on the world oil prices prevailing at the time of sale," she said.

Besides crude sales to China, the company has shipped 2.4 million barrels of oil for processing at ONGC's subsidiary Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), Mahajan said.

In 2003-04, the company plans to bring about 1.6 million tonnes of crude oil from its share of oil produced from the Sudan project, for processing at MRPL and would sell the remaining in the international market.

PTI