The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will soon invite expressions of interest from private firms for drilling operations of 80 of its loss-making oilfields.
ONGC has decided to hand over these small and marginal fields on a service-contract basis retaining their ownership.
Company sources said that although these oilfields are now running in losses, they could be turned into profitable ventures by private firms incurring smaller overhead costs.
ONGC incurs huge overheads on these fields. Production from these wells is also declining.
"This move is being made in the hope that private operators with lower overheads will make drilling in these 80 fields profitable. They will drill for a fixed service change," the sources said.
Besides the fixed service charge, an incremental payment would be made for meeting the output target. The financial details are still to be finalised.
The sources said the financial offer might vary from one oilfield to another.
The oilfields will be handed over to private operators in a phased manner.
"In the first phase we hope to find private drilling firms for 40 of the fields," the sources said.
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