Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's board approved a follow-on share sale plan, but the company will file papers with the markets regulator only after it gets the greenlight from the government. The company had hoped to launch the offer in July and is expected to raise up to $2.8 billion.
There has been delay in the offer by several months as rising crude oil prices and consequently higher subsidy burden kept the state-run firm away from the market. The Government raised diesel prices last week, which is likely to bring down the subsidy burden on state-run oil companies, including ONGC.
Recently, ONGC was likely to invest $7.7 billion to develop a gas field in an east coast block and produce up to 30 million cubic meters a day in five years. The company was seeking approval from the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and the petroleum ministry for its proposal to drill eight additional wells in the block to maximize output from the deep-sea field.
