Mittal to transfer 50% of Kazakh oil field stake to OVL

Steel czar Lakshmi N Mittal has offered to sell half of his stake in a Kazakhstan oil field to state-run ONGC Videsh in line with its previous commitment, a statement from his holding company said today. "Mittal has offered to transfer half of its stake (in Caspian Investments Resources) to OVL in line with its previous commitment to OVL," Mittal Investment Managing Director Sarl Sudhir Maheshwari said in an e-mail statement. Mittal Investment Sarl, the holding company of Mittal family's interest in world's largest steel firm ArcelorMittal, had in April 2007 acquired 25 per cent stake in Caspian Investments Resources from Russian oil firm Lukoil for $980 million. Maheshwari said "Mittal Family is comfortable with its stake in the Kazakh Caspian project" and the transfer had nothing to do with financial constraints or funding requirement for the Satpayev field which it along with OVL had been allocated in January this year. He, however, said the stake transfer to OVL in Caspian was "subject to the pre-emption rights of the partner (Kazakhstan national oil firm KazMunaiGaz) or the Government of Kazakhstan." Kazakhstan law stipulates KazMunaiGaz taking half of ownership of an oil property at every equity stake transfer.