ONGC may get upto 40 pct in Kazakh block-govt source

NEW DELHI Jan 12 (Reuters) - India's ONGC Videsh is close to getting an up to 40 percent stake in the Satpayev exploration block in Kazakhstan, an oil ministry official told reporters on Monday.

"We hope to get 30-40 percent stake in the block. Oil secretary RS Pandey and ONGC Videsh officials have gone to Kazakhistan to finalise the deal," the official, who did not want to be identified because the deal has not yet been signed, told reporters on the sidelines of the Petrotech conference.

ONGC Videsh is the overseas arm of state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Rohini Ananthan) (Reuters Messaging rajeshkumar.singh.reuters.com@reuters.net +91 11 4178 1000))