Indian oil firm mulls PetroKazakhstan bid

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. was outbid by China National Petroleum

NEW DELHI – India’s biggest state-run oil company, Oil and Natural Gas Corp., may make a counteroffer for PetroKazakhstan Inc., the chief executive of the Indian company said a day after it was outbid by a unit of China National Petroleum Corp.

“We lost very narrowly,” ONGC Chairman Subir Raha told The Associated Press. “We are in touch with our bankers. We are assessing options,” Raha said.
But another ONGC official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said there was little chance that PetroKazakhstan, a Canada-based oil producer, would consider further offers.

In most such cases, the seller decides whether to call for a counterbid, but in some cases rival bidders have made counteroffers unilaterally.

AP