Equipment hiring: ONGC studying CAG report

Mumbai: State-run ONGC today said it is studying the CAG report which had questioned the company for hiring a deep sea drilling rig from Reliance Industries without calling for competitive bids, and termed the deal as untenable.

ONGC, chairman and managing director, Sudhir Vasudeva said his company was in the process of studying the CAG report and replying to the same.[caption id=“attachment_468028” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] In a soup. Reuters[/caption]

“We have replied in the past but our view has not been taken into consideration. There were valid reasons.

“We have gone through a rigid process, rigorous process of diligence etc, duly approved by the board and accordingly we had gone ahead and taken this,” Vasudeva said.

Vasudeva was speaking on the sidelines of an All-India Management Association summit in Mumbai.

“Anybody will not deliberately sell something wrong. We don’t think we have done anything wrong, but if there are difference in perceptions, then we will correct those perceptions. That can be done only through dialogues and discussions,” the ONGC chairman said.

The CAG report said ONGC “deviated from the standard tendering procedure and hired a rig viz Dhirubhai Deepwater KG-1 (DDKG-1) from RIL without calling for competitive bids for a period of four years on untenable grounds”.

PTI