Protest affects ONGC's production in Assam

Production at all oil fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Assam was affected today following a 100-hour 'ONGC bandh' called by All Assam Students Union to press for their various demands.
"Since today morning, our production has been hampered. Currently, we are not producing from any of the wells," an ONGC spokesperson said here.
According to industry estimates, ONGC will incur a production loss of at least Rs 10 crore every day if its output goes down to nil in the state.
This morning, an ONGC vehicle carrying its staff to a drilling site in Sivasagar district was damaged in stone pelting by supporters of All Assam Students Union (AASU).

"We have registered a case and stern action will follow," Sivasagar Additional Superintendent of Police Jayanta Sarathi Bora said.
The strike will also affect other industries dependent on ONGC's output.

The Lakwa Thermal Power Station, which gets gas from ONGC and OIL, would be directly affected.
The student union called the bandh demanding that ONGC set up of a super speciality hospital, fill up vacant posts and give preference to locals while floating tenders.
In the last couple of days, a series of discussions took place with AASU by ONGC and district administration to avert the strike, but no solution could be found.

The total production capacity of ONGC in Assam stands at 1.02 million tonnes (MT), which is down from around 3 MT in 90's decade.
Most of the oil fields of ONGC in Assam are older than the average age of 25-30 years of a well, resulting in dropping of output.
"If the strike continues, the output will further drop as non-production of any well affects its capacity to produce in future," an ONGC official said.