Output boost: ONGC told to sell oilfields, hive off services

With an eye on raising production, the Petroleum Ministry has told Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to sell stake in producing oil fields such as Ratna R-Series to private companies, get foreign partners in KG basin gas fields, monetise existing infrastructure, and hive off drilling and other services into a separate firm.

Amar Nath, Additional Secretary (Exploration) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on April 1, wrote to ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Subhash Kumar giving a seven-point action plan, ‘ONGC Way Forward’ that would help the nation’s largest oil and gas producer raise output by one-third by FY24.