India's biggest oil producer, ONGC, has agreed to buy Imperial Energy for $2.6bn but it may face a battle to secure the deal.
Imperial has access to resource-rich Russian oilfields and analysts say that ONGC is looking to secure supplies of oil to fuel India's booming economy.
However, Chinese oil giant Sinopec is reported to be contemplating a counter bid for London-listed Imperial.
Sinopec confirmed interest, but said it was yet to decide whether to pursue it.
640
India's ONGC Buying Imperial Energy
India's biggest oil producer, ONGC, has agreed to buy Imperial Energy