ONGC negotiates oil field operation and sales rights… CFO expects agreement within 3-6 months

India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is negotiating new contracts to secure operating rights and product sales rights for Venezuela's San Cristobal field and the Carabobo-1 project, with neither operating agreement yet signed. CFO Anupam Agarwal said on a November 6 earnings call that talks with the Venezuelan government and business partners have progressed and he expects a deal within three to six months. Agarwal said the approvals needed for the new operating framework, including a license from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), have already been obtained. The agreement matters because it would formalize ONGC's role in the two Venezuelan assets and clarify how output is sold, a key step for a foreign operator working under U.S. sanctions. Investors should watch for the signing of the operating contracts and any OFAC conditions attached to the new framework within the stated three-to-six-month window.