Govt's 60% oil block sell-off plan may hit dual contract roadblock

Govt plans to sell 60% stake in 15 fields of ONGC, Oil India to rope in private firms as part of production enhancement policy

The government’s plan to farm out a 60 per cent stake in about 15 fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) to private players might lead to a dual system of contracts.

According to a person in the know, private players will be offered participating interests in the fields based on a revenue-sharing model, while ONGC and OIL will hold stakes in them based on earlier contracts.

The two state-owned companies may have to continue to pay royalties and cess.

This is a major dilemma before the policymakers as to whether two parties can have separate sets of