ONGC to spend on drill ships, rigs as costs drop

Mumbai

OIL and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), India's biggest explorer, is preparing to spend on its biggest ever crude binge as sub-US$50 oil halves the cost of rigs and services.

State-run ONGC is contracting as many as five deepwater drill ships and dozens of jack-up rigs as it launches a US$5 billion development programme in the Krishna-Godavari Basin off the east coast of India, said chairman Dinesh Kumar Sarraf. The company wants to make use of the drop in hiring rates for vessels and oilfield services to lower costs and boost profit, he said.