ONGC offers $100 mln for Nigerian oil block

LAGOS, Oct 5 (Reuters) India's ONGC-Mittal offered 0 million for Nigerian Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 246 after a court ruling opened it for a bidding contest, a Department of Petroleum Resources official said on Thursday.

The Indian firm out-bid INC Natural Resources and BG-Sahara at an auction on Wednesday shortly after the former licensee, local oil company South Atlantic Petroleum, lost a legal challenge against a government decision to revoke the licence.

The DPR said the three bids were submitted at a mini-bidding round in May, but they were not dealt with at that time because of the pending South Atlantic court case.

''When the case was resolved yesterday, the three companies were invited to come for the opening of bids and ONGC-Mittal made the highest offer of 0 million,'' a DPR official told Reuters.

ONGC must pay 25 percent of the signature bonus by Friday or lose the block to INC, which was designated as the reserved bidder, the official said, asking not to be named.

Oil companies in Africa's top producer routinely relinquish half of their exploration licences when they make a discovery, converting to a production licence covering a smaller area and freeing up unused acreage for others to do more exploration.

But South Atlantic had asked a Federal High Court to review the government's decision to revoke the remnant of OPL 246 after the giant Akpo oilfield was discovered, delaying the sale of the acreage.

The Akpo field, about 200 km off the Nigerian coast and operated by French energy giant Total, is expected to produce 225,000 barrels of oil a day when it comes on stream in the second half of 2008.

Nigeria is preparing to auction 50 oil and gas exploration blocks later this month, the third licensing round in just over a year.

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