New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS): State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) Rs 4,022 crore share buyback offer for shareholders will open on January 29 and close on February 11, the company has announced.

The company made this offer of returning surplus cash to members holding equity shares of the company in a letter to shareholders on Saturday.

Last month, the ONGC board had approved the buyback of 25.29 crore shares for Rs 159 a share.

"The funds for the buyback will be met out of internally generated cash resources of the company," ONGC said.

"The board decided to recommend buyback of not exceeding 25.29 crore equity shares representing 1.97 per cent of the total number of equity shares in the paid-up share capital of the company at a price of Rs 159 per share for an aggregate consideration of not exceeding Rs 4,022 crore," it said.

"The buyback is expected to contribute to the overall enhancement of shareholder value and result in an increase in the return on equity of the company".

Selling its shares in public sector units (PSUs) through such buyback programmes has been one of the ways employed by the government to reduce the fiscal deficit and several PSUs have announced buyback programmes.

PSUs with net worth of over Rs 2,000 crore and a cash balance of more than Rs 1,000 crore have been asked go for share buybacks.

Of the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target for the current fiscal, the government has so far raised around Rs 15,000 crore through stake sale in PSUs.