Archive · 5 Aug 2026
ONGC set to revive Venezuela oil operations after sanctions ease
ONGC is an Indian company that looks for oil and gas under the ground.
It belongs to the Indian government, which is why we call it state-run.
For a long time, ONGC could not work on oil projects in a country called Venezuela because of rules from the United States called sanctions.
Now the United States has given ONGC special permission, so ONGC can start working in Venezuela again.
ONGC will take over running two oil projects in Venezuela that were run by Venezuela's own oil company, PDVSA.
Taking over the projects means ONGC will be the main boss of the oil work there.
ONGC is also earning a lot more money now from a Russian oil project called Sakhalin-1.
Earlier, ONGC's foreign branch, ONGC Videsh, made about Rs 500 to 600 crore in a whole year.
Now it makes more than Rs 1,000 crore every three months.
That is a huge improvement, which makes ONGC very happy.
State-run ONGC is set to sign agreements to take over operatorship of two Venezuelan oil projects from PDVSA.
ONGC Videsh holds a 40% stake in the San Cristobal field and an 18% interest in the Carabobo-1 project.
ONGC has secured a US Office of Foreign Assets Control licence and is engaging with Venezuelan authorities.
ONGC Videsh's profit has jumped from Rs 500-600 crore annually to more than Rs 1,000 crore a quarter.
The recovery is driven by ONGC's restored 20% Sakhalin-1 stake, though Russian realisations remain constrained by geopolitical conditions and price-cap concerns.
- Who
- India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), its overseas arm ONGC Videsh, Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA, and ONGC Director-Finance Anupam Agarwal, who commented on the plans.
- What
- ONGC is set to sign agreements to take over operatorship of two Venezuelan oil projects, San Cristobal and Carabobo-1, and reported a sharp profit recovery driven by its restored stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1.
- When
- Announced recently; ONGC's 20% Sakhalin-1 stake was restored in December 2025, profit recognition began in January 2026, and new Venezuela agreements are expected shortly.
- Where
- Venezuela (San Cristobal field and Carabobo-1 project) and Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil project.
- Why
- To reopen a key overseas growth avenue that sanctions had constrained, while the restored Sakhalin-1 stake has lifted ONGC Videsh into a robust profit scenario.
- Company
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), India's state-run explorer
- Stake in San Cristobal
- 40% (ONGC Videsh)
- Interest in Carabobo-1
- 18% (ONGC Videsh with other Indian firms)
- Current operator of assets
- PDVSA, Venezuela's state oil firm
- Stake in Sakhalin-1
- 20% (restored December 2025)
- Sakhalin-1 quarterly revenue
- Nearly Rs 1,000 crore, doubled from Rs 500-600 crore
- ONGC Videsh quarterly profit
- More than Rs 1,000 crore in each of the past two quarters
- US licence
- Granted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)