Shell To Bid For Revival Of Ongc Field

Royal Dutch Shell group, the worlds largest oil company, plans to join hands with Oil & Natural Gas Corporation to help revive production at the Neelam oil field of the public sector company. Against the initial projection of 3.5 million tonnes a year, the production has remained confined to 2 million tonnes.

Shell, the Anglo-Dutch group, said yesterday that it was keen to participate in the venture and would make a bid once tenders were floated.

The bid will mark the beginning of an expansion move by the $168 billion oil multinational, which already has three companies in India through which it is eyeing upstream as well as downstream projects in the country.

Of all the foreign oil majors, Shell has the biggest presence in India.

In the upstream sector, the group is operating an exploration block in Rajasthan, where seismic surveys have been concluded. It has offered ONGC its expertise in deep water exploration. ONGC plans to spend nearly Rs 300 crore on deep sea exploration in 1997-98.

We are keen to participate and exchange our expertise with ONGC. We look forward to being invited to form a venture, said Derek Corbishley, chief executive officer of Shell India Production Development, BV, Royal Dutch Shells upstream arm in India.

Some days ago, ONGC had said that it would invite bids from multinational oil companies to revive the Neelam oil field, off Bombay High.