Huge response in ONGC tender for 5 onland rigs
ONGC has received an overwhelming response in a tender to hire five onland rigs despite the fact it closed a full ten months after it was issued.
Nine drillers submitted bids on October 13 offering 17 rigs. ONGC wants to hire three 2000-hp land rigs at its Cauvery asset and one 2000-hp rig at its Tripura asset for three years.
It also needs one 1400-hp land rig at its Rajahmundry asset for 18 months. A joint venture between Om Metals and China's Kerui Group offered three 2000-hp rigs, two with 15,000-psi BoPs and one with a 10,000-psi BoP.
John Energy has submitted bids in all three categories, offering four 2000-hp rigs and one 1400-hp rig. John is the only company to have participated in the 1400-hp category and three of the 2000-hp rigs it is offering are new-build.
Deep Industries is offering two 2000-hp rigs for Cauvery and one for Tripura. Simplex Avash and Weatherford Drilling have each offered three 2000-hp rigs.
Also in the race are China's Sinopec Oilfield Service, Grey Wolf Drilling which is part of Precision Drilling; a consortium of Chinese companies Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group and Top Hydrocarbons, a company formed by SVOGL - earlier known as Shiv Vani Oil and Gas. ONGC might disqualify the Om and Kerui consortium for not meeting the eligibility criteria.
"Kerui is a rig manufacturer," says a driller. "Not a drilling contractor.
You can't fool ONGC that easily!"
