The Hindu Business Line : ONGC to go for best exploration practices

OFTEN criticised for low success ratio in exploring oil and natural gas in the country, ONGC has called for an organisational revamp in its exploration activities.

Labelled `Exploration Rejuvenation Campaign (ERC)', the project aims at empowering the company's pool of geo-physicists and specialists in taking decisions suitable to the particular exploration field, introduction of best exploration practices and paving the way for outsourcing of requisite technology and technical support.

The campaign is being launched at a time when ONGC is facing the 2008 deadline to commence exploration activities in a large number of blocks (awarded to it either through nomination basis or through NELP).

According to the new scheme of things, expected to take shape this fiscal, the company will appoint acreage managers for all 178 exploration acreages under seven basins in the country. These key managers will be responsible for evaluating the respective blocks, suggest measures, take decisions and execute the same. The managers will be reporting to the Director (Exploration).

This is the second biggest organisational revamp to be carried out by ONGC since 2002 when it earmarked producing fields in nine assets and identified seven basins for taking up all future exploration activities. The ERC will do away with the existing practice of basin managers heading both the operational and administrative fronts for a large number of acreages.

"We are trying take a focused approach to all our future exploration and development activities," a senior company official told Business Line. "The idea is to allow the information to flow right from the field level to the board room. Since acreage managers will lead a group of geo-physicists focusing on a particular field, by empowering them, we will be able to make them accountable for the results too." These measures are also expected to reduce the existing time lag in evaluating the potential of the field vis-à-vis its development.

These new measures may also pave the way for introduction of a special career path for the company's vast pool of geo-scientists and specialists. Though considered to be the backbone of an exploration and production company, such specialists do not enjoy adequate career improvement opportunities in ONGC in its existing structure.

This often made them vulnerable to poaching by rival companies. According to some rough estimates, the company has lost over 100 experienced drilling experts and geo-physicists to its rivals in the last one year.

Technology tie-ups

The exploration rejuvenation campaign may pave the way for wide scale technology tie-ups and outsourcing. "Technology has become the single most important factor in our industry," a senior company official said, adding that the company was now fully geared to carry out a massive technology overhaul for its future exploration activities.

"We already have collaborations with Norsk Hydro of Norway, ENI of Italy, British Gas and others mostly for deepwater exploration. We also outsource services from reputed firms such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, IPR and Backer and Hughes", the official said, adding that the company may be found entering into a spate of technical collaborations in the next few years.

Also on the cards is outsourcing of technical expertise including geological and geophysical data.