Oil cos sign new Panna/Mukta deal

The Indian unit of the British energy firm BG group, Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries signed an amended contract for the Panna/Mukta oil and gas and Tapti gas field with the government for joint management of the fields.

British Gas Exploration and Production India, ONGC and Reliance will jointly operate the fields, a top official said.

"An amendment to the production sharing contract became necessary after BGEPIL acquired the 30 per cent stake in the field held by Enron Oil and Gas India," he added.

EOGIL was the sole operator of the fields in which ONGC has a 40 per cent stake and Reliance holding the remaining 30 per cent.

"The management of the fields would be through an operator board, which will comprise of representatives from each of the three partners," the official said.

Each of the partners has been assigned a lead role: ONGC is in-charge of contracts, procurement and projects, Reliance has been assigned financial and commercial responsiblities, and BGEPIL would look after
the technical and operational aspects.

The chairman of the joint operator board will be appointed for a tenure of two years on rotation. Sudhir Vasudeva, chief of ONGC's offshore PSC, will be chairing the board for the next two years.

"The new arrangement is expected to bring in more synergy among the partners and a greater role as well," the official said.