ONGC s Decline and What Should Be Done

Kannan Srinivasan India's demand for petroleum products is rising sharply even as domestic production declines. The Oil and Natural Gas Commission was set up with the national priority of making India increasingly self-sufficient in hydrocarbons. It was run down by subordinating the geo-scientists in the Commission and their procedures to the goal of immediate production at the expense of the long-term. Today nearly every department of the ONGC is mismanaged and corrupt. The company (as it now is) should revert to its original role of the national oil company. Output can be greatly increased in producing fields, and production should be commenced in other areas such as the Assam-Arakan.