ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, will invest $30 million for the exploration of oil in Libya.

OVL has acquired 40 per cent stake in two exploration blocks, NC-188 and NC-189, in Libya from the Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Sumitra Mahajan said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Block NC-188 - measuring 6,558 sq km - falling in the Ghadames Basin, is about 250 km south of Tripoli, while Block NC-189 - measuring 2,088 sq km - located in Sirte Basin, is about 850 km south east of Tripoli.

"OVL's share of expenditure towards fulfilling the exploration work commitments in both the blocks is estimated to be around $30 million [Rs 141 crore (Rs 1.41 billion)] over a period of two years," she said.

To another question, Mahajan said the first shipment of OVL's share of crude oil from the Greater Nile Oil Project in Sudan, where OVL has taken a 25 per cent stake, arrived in May.

The shipment - amounting to 599,264 barrels - was purchased by Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd at $28.16 per barrel, she said.

The crude oil production from Sakhalin-I Project in Russia, where OVL has taken a 20 per cent stake, is expected to commence by 2005-end.