Maharatna ONGC makes strong pitch for Essar's Ratna fields.

Oil and gas major ONGC has opposed the UPA government's move to re-auction the Ratna and R-series fields, located130 km southwest of Mumbai. The state-owned firm has made a strong pitch to Dharmendra Pradhan, the new petroleum minister, arguing the field was originally held and developed by it and should be reallocated to it.

The Ratna and R-series fields have been languishing since 1993 when the PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress government decided to invite bids. It was subsequently allocated to Essar Oil in 1996. However, with the government failing to come up with an amicable production-sharing contract, the field has so far not been formally handed over to Essar and not a single barrel of oil has been produced.


THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS