Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has blasted US investment banker Goldman Sachs for its controversial note on its corporate governance saying its analysis is devoid of basic facts and is aimed at hurting the company's image.
In a point-by-point rebuttal to Goldman claims that the government, as promoter, had taken $20 billion in cash from the company over the last six years without consulting minority shareholders, ONGC said a perusal of the report reveals that the analysis is devoid of basic facts and certain parts of it are based on non-comparable benchmarks.
ONGC in a statement said corporate governance remains highest priority for the management at all times.
ONGC took strong objection to Goldman interpreting the discounts it (ONGC) gave on crude oil sold to state-run refiners so that they could sell fuel at subsidised rates as the government taking cash out of the company.
Subsidy discounts, it said, were given on crude produced from nominated fields only, where there is no production sharing or profit oil sharing with the government.
Globally, companies have a production-sharing regime with the governments, who as the owner of the mineral resource gets a predefined percentage of the oil and gas produced.