Indian explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp said it was in talks with Russia's Bashneft and RussNeft to merge its Russian assets, but no approval had been received from the Indian government.

It had been had reported that the Indian cabinet had approved the merger proposal that would give state run ONGC 25% stake in the combined entity and access to one of the biggest discovered oilfields in Russia.

Mr AK Hazarika ONGC chairman said that "We are in discussion but nothing has been finalized. No such proposal was put up for cabinet. This news is incorrect."

ONGC has long eyed a deal with Bashneft, a unit of telecoms to oil group Sistema as well as involvement in the Arctic fields of Trebs and Titov, as it seeks to broaden its oil and gas base in Russia, the world's top energy exporter.

But a merger of Bashneft and RussNeft is a long way off. Last week, Sistema President Mikhail Shamolin said the company may consider merging Bashneft and RussNeft once the latter's debt falls below USD 4 billion, but given current oil prices it may be a few years before that debt falls to the required level.

(Sourced from ET)