A consortium of Indian state-run oil firms has signed an agreement with Iran to explore for oil in the Gulf, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday.
He said India has committed to invest 27 million dollars to explore the Farsi area of the Gulf which was expected to yield 500 million barrels of oil.

India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s overseas arm Videsh holds 40 percent in the venture, Indian Oil Corp holds another 40 per cent while the rest is with Oil India Limited.
India has been looking to buy into oilfields overseas to ensure a stable supply, as the country imports more than 70 per cent of its oil requirements.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corp. recently purchased Canadian oil firm Talisman's 25 per cent stake in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co. (GNOC), which accounts for the bulk of Sudan's oil production.

Indian officials have denied that the move for diversification was linked to fears over a war in oil-rich Iraq.
India hopes to diversify its oil purchases further by buying from countries including Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia and Venezuela. It currently buys most of its oil from the Middle East.

Source: www.oil.com