Report: ONGC denies bid for Canada oil sands

Associated Press

MUMBAI, India (AP) — State run Indian oil giant Oil and Natural Gas Corp. denied Tuesday that it and two other state-run oil companies jointly bid $5 billion for a stake in six Canadian oil sands assets owned by U.S. energy giant ConocoPhillips, the Press Trust of India reported.

"I can categorically say that we have not made a bid yet for the $5 billion deal," ONGC chairman and managing director Sudhir Vasudeva told PTI.

Vasudeva said that ONGC is looking for overseas acquisitions, but declined to comment on specific deals or timelines.

News reports Monday quoting anonymous sources said that ONGC, Indian Oil Corp. and Oil India Ltd. made a joint, non-binding bid for the assets in July.

India imports three-quarters of its oil and its state-owned oil companies have been looking to secure energy supplies overseas to meet rising domestic demand.

Executives at the three Indian companies could not be reached for comment.

"We do not comment on market rumors," said ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Davy Kong.