RIL sells stake in Yemen oil block to Indonesian firm

Reliance Industries has soldits 25% stake in an oil block in Yemen to Indonesia's Medco Energi for about USD 90 million, the firm's second overseas stake sale in one month. RIL's Dubai-based subsidiary Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC last month signed agreements to sell 25 per cent interest in producing Block 9 in Yemen to Medco Energi, industry sources said. The stake sale follows billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run firm exiting from two oil blocks in Kurdistan region of Iraq on July 19. RIL had in 2001 won Yemen's Block 9 along withHood Energy and Calvalley Petroleum Inc. RIL and Hood Energy held 25% stake each while Calvalley had the remaining 50%. Sources said RIL's sale agreement with Medco would be effective from January 1. While the agreement is for a 25% interest, Medco would effectively have a 21.25% participating interest in theblock because, under a regulation in Yemen, the contractor of a production-sharing agreement has to accommodate a working interest for