15-07-08 Indian public sector petroleum company Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has made an approach to acquire Imperial Energy, a London-listed company focussed on Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
ONGC, a Fortune 500 company, has said it is looking to expand its overseas operations, especially into Russia and other eastern European countries.

An analyst at UniCredit investment bank, Artyom Konchin, noted Russia's recent stance toward foreign investments in its energy sector.
"I'm not entirely convinced it will be as simple as that. In Russia it's not just a matter of ONGC making an offer and buying the company." In November, Imperial declined an offer from the banking arm of Russia's state-owned gas firm Gazprom, which had been seeking a 25 % stake.

Imperial's shares have been volatile recently as the company has been seeking funding in the financial markets. Since 2006, its reserves have grown sharply as the company has started an exploration and production programme andmade capital investments in the Tomsk region.
Imperial produced an average of 10,000 bpd at the end of 2007 and is aiming for 25,000 bpd by the year end.