ONGC open to tie-ups for prospecting new basins, flags ‘critical’ issues on recast

NEW DELHI: Days after the oil ministry sought a response to a plan to carve up ONGC’s functional sections into a separate company and sell stake in major producing fields, India’s largest state-run explorer has said it is eyeing foreign partnerships for prospecting in unexplored basins but critical issues needed to be addressed before looking at changing the company’s structure.

“The government has been continuously encouraging ONGC to play a much larger role in the context of India’s oil and gas sector,” contrary to the impression conveyed by the ministry’s communication, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.