"I compliment ONGC for arresting the decline in oil production from existing oil fields and maintain the current level of production... In the next 6-7 years the current production level of 27 million tonnes will come down to 19-20 million tonnes," Mani Shankar Aiyar, Petroleum Minister cautioned.
Emphasising on the need for complementing the domestic efforts with foreign direct investment, Aiyar said private and foreign investment would help increase the domestic crude production by eight million tonnes in the next 5-6 years. Besides there would be a significant gas production in KG basin also due to contribution of Reliance and Niko.
The minister, however, regretted that the corporation had not done much in the area of corporate social responsibility and its expenditure under the head had come down significantly.
Although ONGC had announced last year to take up social responsibility projects in around 25 of its isolated and marginal oil fields, it has just started some work in Tripura only, he said and pointed out that the corporation was supposed to spend 0.57 per cent of its net profit in a year towards its corporate social responsibilities but actual expenditure was substantially low.