Vinod Bhat
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, in a written reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, emphasised that Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) and a major contributor to India’s economy, engages with experienced and specialised entities for carrying out complex technical studies. These include modelling of permeable reservoirs, deep-water subsurface studies and interpretation of data for production enhancement. Such studies require highly specialised domain knowledge, proprietary/patented software, advanced modelling techniques, research infrastructure and timely delivery capabilities.
The Minister informed that across the world, only a handful of entities provide these specialised services. One such entity is M/s Beicip-Franlab, which operates under the control of IFPEN (Institut Français du Pétrole Energies Nouvelles), a state-of-the-art and world-renowned Research & Development (R&D) institute under the Ministry of Energy, Government of France. IFPEN has extensive global experience and recognition in these specialised areas, especially in deep and ultra-deep-water studies and patented proprietary software for reservoir modelling, which is technically complex.
Shri Puri highlighted that ONGC has a running Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IFPEN (last renewed in 2023) for joint research and technical collaboration for exploration and development of hydrocarbon reserves and implementation of new technologies, including renewable energy.
It was further clarified that ONGC undertakes a large number of exploration and production projects across the country as per its Board-approved guidelines, which are in line with the principles laid out by the General Financial Rules (GFR) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). In reference to consultancy contracts, it was reiterated that no contract has been awarded to M/s Beicip-Franlab in the North Eastern Region of ONGC. Even in other regions, the total value of assignments awarded to M/s Beicip-Franlab is less than Rs 6.5 crore in the last five years. This is a miniscule percentage when compared to ONGC’s scale of operations, with the company having an average Profit After Tax (PAT) of more than Rs 33,000 crore per annum in the last five years.
