New Delhi (Platts) - Indian upstream player ONGC Videsh expects to conclude an agreement soon in Kazakhstan for an exploration block in the Caspian Sea and has not yet decided whether to pull out of Iran's South Pars project because of the threat of U.S. sanctions, exploration director Joeman Thomas said Tuesday. ONGC Videsh, or OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC, is also actively pursuing offshore opportunities in Angola but cannot confirm that it is among the companies approached to take a stake in a block that ExxonMobil wants to quit, he said in an interview. ""They have approached a few companies to gauge their interest,"" Thomas said. ""The general policy is that Angola is one of the countries where we have been keen to make an entry,"" he said, adding that Angolan state oil company Sonangol has pre-emption rights that it could exercise. India's Economic Times said Monday that OVL would put in a bid for ExxonMobil's interest in Block 31 offshore Angola. Total Wednesday confirmed that it was considering quitting its participation in the block, where 19 discoveries have been made. But Iran is proving a challenge, Butola and Thomas said, referring to tough U.S. sanctions, which were recently tightened to deter foreign oil and gas companies from investing in Iran's energy sector as part of an international effort to force Tehran to abandon its controversial nuclear program. Iran Tuesday told OVL and its joint venture partners Hinduja Group that they have three months to decide on taking a 40% stake in Phase 12 of the offshore South Pars gas field before talks are permanently abandoned, the Mehr news agency reported. The Indian companies have been negotiating with Iran for more than three years on the project that is expected to require investment of $7.8 billion. The National Iranian Oil Co., which had previously set a deadline of March for the agreement to be finalized, has told the two Indian companies they expect an agreement by January 2011 or the talks are off. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director, Sharma, suggested that OVL would not be rushed into signing up for the South Pars project because of the ultimatum, noting that EU sanctions, which were recently amended, imposed even tougher terms on oil and gas investments. Oil industry sources say Indian oil and gas companies will seek an exemption and argue that as an energy-dependent country, India needs access to upstream assets abroad in order to satisfy demand for energy in one of Asia's fastest growing economies. Sharma noted that OVL's investments in Iran were made before the latest round of sanctions. He said that in the case of the offshore Farsi field, where OVL is operator with a 40% interest, discoveries have already been made since the contract was signed in 2002. Other shareholders in the block are Indian Oil Corp. with 40% and Oil India Ltd with the remaining 20%.