Burren buys into Indian oil firm

Oil group Burren Energy today said it was buying more than a quarter of India’s only publicly quoted oil and gas explorer.

Burren said it had bought a 26% stake in Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) for $26m (€20m).

The deal represents Burren’s first corporate acquisition since its flotation in December 2003.

HOEC is based in Vadodara, Gujarat and has a market capitalisation of $138m (€106.1m). It is quoted on the National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It has a portfolio of onshore and offshore assets at Cauvery off the coast of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India, as well as Cambay and Assam.

Burren said HOEC presented a chance to enter the Indian oil and gas industry, which offered a significant oil and gas exploration opportunity given India’s energy needs and its government’s current efforts to attract private companies into the business.

London-based Burren said it intended to make India the fourth leg of its business, complementing its existing interests in the Caspian Sea and west and north Africa.

Chief executive Finian O’Sullivan said: “This investment in HOEC is very compelling for Burren.”