The petroleum ministry has told ONGC to give away a 60 per cent stake plus operating control in India’s largest oil and gas producing fields of Mumbai High and Bassein to foreign companies, according to an October 28 letter to the state-owned company.

Amar Nath, additional secretary (exploration) in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, wrote a 3-page letter to ONGC chairman and managing director Subhash Kumar, saying productivity of the Mumbai High and Bassein & Satellite (B&S) offshore assets under the state-owned firm was low and international partners should be invited and given 60 per cent participating interest (PI) and operatorship.

This is the second time since April that Nath, who is part of the ONGC management as the longest-serving government nominee director on its board and often considered a potential candidate to replace Kumar next year, has written an official letter, painting a poor picture of the company’s performance.

According to the October 28 letter, reviewed by PTI, he said the redevelopment projects will raise recovery of the mature and continuously declining Mumbai High field from 28 per cent to 32 per cent, “which is quite low”.

“The field has substantial potential to contribute to domestic production,” he said adding the infrastructure such as pipelines and platforms on the fields are “ageing and leaking and need replacement/revamping”.

“ONGC will, however, find this challenging as its improvement/development projects have lagged behind schedule. Procedural aspects and other constraints will not encourage ONGC to take quick decisions,” he said.