ONGC draws a blank on offer of stake in Deen Dayal gas field in third attempt

The field has produced negligible quantities of gas since ONGC in Jan 2017 acquired GSPC's 80% interest in KG-OSN-2001/3 block off east coast of India

NEW DELHI: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) third attempt to get a partner to rescue the Deen Dayal gas field in the KG basin in Bay of Bengal has met with the same fate as previous efforts as it got no bids, sources said.

The tender offering stake to technical and financial partners in the Deen Dayal field, which ONGC had acquired from a Gujarat government firm for $1.2 billion, received no bids, two sources aware of the matter said.

ONGC on June 12 sought expression of interest from "global oil and gas companies with requisite technical expertise and financial strength to join as partner (with participative interest) for firming up a viable strategy" for the field, according to the tender document. Bids closed on September 12.

The field has produced negligible quantities of gas since ONGC in January 2017 acquired Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation's (GSPC) 80 per cent interest in the KG-OSN-2001/3 block off the east coast of India.