India's ONGC inks Kazakhstan oil exploration deal

NEW DELHI Jan 24 (Reuters) - India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) said on Saturday it has signed a deal to explore for oil and gas in the Satpayev Block in Kazakhstan.

The company said ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL) -- a joint venture company between its overseas arm and Mittal Investments Sarl -- had signed an initial agreement with Kazakhstan-based KazMunaiGas (KMG)KMG.UL.

"The HOA signed today is in pursuance to the memorandum of understanding that was signed between the two sides in February, 2005, for cooperation in the oil and gas sector of Kazakhstan," the company said in a statement.

The Kazakh government signed a memorandum of understanding with ONGC in 2005 for the offshore block Satpayev with estimated reserves of 1.85 billion barrels, but did not reach a firm agreement.

"The two companies are now actively pursuing together with the Government of Kazakhstan for finalization of the Exploration and Production Contract," the statement added.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Patrick Graham)