The Hindu Business Line : ONGC expects major gas find in KG basin

AFTER Mumbai High, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd is expecting a major gas find in the deep-water region of Krishna-Godavari basin where it is currently operating two ships.

According to the ONGC Executive Director, Mr A. Kaviraj, out of the corporation's 37 blocks in the deep-water region, 16 blocks were in the KG basin. ONGC had already drilled one well in the KG basin, which was expected to yield up to 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Several other wells were being drilled simultaneously expecting a major gas find.

Mr Kaviraj told newspersons here on Tuesday that ONGC would be making a capital investment of Rs 10,000 crore per annum during the next three years aggregating to Rs 30,000 crore. The corporation's sales revenues had jumped from Rs 24,867 crore in 2002 to Rs 36,705 crore in 2003. Its net profit had increased to Rs 10,529 crore last fiscal from Rs 6,197 crore in 2002.

Stating that ONGC had received Government authorisation to establish retail outlets for marketing of motor spirit and high-speed diesel, Mr Kaviraj said that the corporation was currently working on a prototype in this regard. The first retail outlet was expected to be opened shortly in Mangalore and the remaining outlets by 2006. While ONGC got authorisation to set up 1,100 retail outlets, its subsidiary, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, was allowed to set up 500 retail outlets.

The Union Government, which holds 84.11 per cent of ONGC's equity capital, is offering for sale over 14.25- crore equity shares of Rs 10 each of the corporation. The offer, which opens on March 5 and closes on March 13, constitutes up to 10 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital of the company.