State-owned ONGC’s nine biggest oil and gas fields, including Mumbai High and Vasai East, came tantalisingly close to being sold to private and foreign companies, but the plan was nixed after strong opposition from within the government, sources said.
A high-level committee headed by NITI-Aayog Vice-Chariman Rajiv Kumar late last year had considered “transferring” western offshore oil and gas fields of Mumbai High, Heera, D-1, Vasai East and Panna as well as Greater Jorajan and Geleki field in Assam, Baghewala in Rajasthan and Kalol oilfield in Gujarat to private/foreign companies. Multiple sources in NITI-Aayog and government said the plan to give away fields producing 95 per cent of India’s current oil and gas could not go through because of very strong opposition from Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) as well as some quarters within the government who found something amiss in the proposal.
