Engineers India wants deepwater work from ONGC
Engineers India is keeping a watchful eye on ONGCs multi-billion dollar deepwater programme and wants to participate in all its future deepwater exploration.
For this, it wants government help. ONGC may be asked (by the government) to associate EIL with all future deepwater offshore development, chairman and managing director MK Dalal writes to oil secretary SC Tripathi on 20th October.
Dalal believes this would ensure that local (Indian) content is increased at the earliest. EILs sudden interest in ONGCs deepwater exploration programme stems from Tripathis 13th September letter asking the Indian state-owned consultant to accelerate the pace of indigenous (Indian) technology development.
In his reply Dalal stresses that EIL can offer design packages for several technologies developed in-house or in association with organisations like the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Indian Oil. These technologies are in the areas of petroleum refining, gas processing and aromatics recovery.
Dalal adds that EIL has identified a number of thrust areas for consolidation of existing technologies and development of new capabilities. Dalal admits that industry has often supported Indian technology but believes it could do more: It is felt that the intervention of the government is necessary if the dependence on overseas technologies is to be minimised and indigenous technology development encouraged to attain global standards.
Dalal insists that EIL should be given an opportunity to bid for a job whenever it can offer the same guarantees provided by competitors. In this connection, please note that EIL was a pioneer in the country in the adaptation and subsequent development of technology related to offshore production and processing, he writes.
According to Dalal, EILs involvement in ONGCs deepwater programme would boost indigenous technology development.
