State-owned Oil India today said it will look at taking over Oil and Natural Gas Corp's Assam oilfields when an offer is made and will decide on the acquisition after due diligence.
In a statement, OIL said there was no directive from the government to it to take over ONGC's Assam oilfields.
"If such a directive comes from the government, OIL will consider the proposal after proper due diligence, like it would for any property available in India or abroad," OIL Chairman and Managing Director N M Borah said. "We have the highest regard for our sister PSU ONGC."
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is mulling over hiving off ONGC's Assam assets into a wholly-owned subsidiary to improve productivity.
ONGC produces 1.1 million tonnes of crude oil annually from the Assam oilfields employing over 4,000 personnel. In contrast, OIL uses 6,500-odd employees to produce 3.6 million tonnes of crude oil and is projecting an annual growth of 3-5 per cent.
OIL's cost of production in the North-East is under USD 7.5 per barrel while that of ONGC is much higher than that.
Borah said OIL has increased its oil and gas production in the North East with high level of operational comfort.
"With rich experience over a long period, OIL definitely can operate similar fields, be it of ONGC or any other company in the North East with similar efficiency," he added.
