Arun Singh quashes Mumbai High rumours
ONGC chairman Arun Singh knows how to respond with humour to a provocative question.
This was evident during a hybrid post-AGM press conference at the Oberoi Hotel Ballroom in Delhi on August 30 (2024). First, Singh rejected a charge that ONGC might "outsource" some of its fields to BP.
Instead, he clarified that anyone reading the tender will see that it is a technical service provider contract on offer at Mumbai High. "Oh, what a lovely question!" Singh responded sarcastically when this report asked him about the outsourcing rumours whirling around among ONGC employees.
"I think there appears to be a problem understanding the English language," said Singh. "The tender says it all."
On June 1 (2024), ONGC invited offers by September 15 (2024) for a technical service provider to reverse declining Mumbai High field output. "If you have read the tender carefully, which I suppose you have because you are raising this question, the tender says a technical service provider will transfer his knowledge and expertise to enhance oil recovery," Singh explained.
He said ONGC wanted technical service providers for Mumbai High as increasing production was a struggle because of limited recovery. "I will be frank with you and tell you oil majors have recovered as much as 50% of oil in place from some fields," he continued.
"We are at 30% or 31% or 32%." Justifying the move to hire technical consultants, he added: "We have miles to go, and naturally, we want to go with somebody who knows it best; ONGC today has at least 100 consultants providing technical services, and nobody raises an eyebrow; and in every big field, we have a consultant."
Singh stressed that "a technical service provider just provides technical support, and we (ONGC) remain the owner, the operator and the project executor." He clarified that if there is an increase beyond what ONGC thinks is a normal decline, some of the revenue will be shared with the technical service provider as a fee, not as a partner.