ONGC commits to Rs 30,000 cr procurement

State-owned ONGC on Sunday said it will procure equipment and services worth over Rs 30,000 crore to support its oil and gas exploration and production operations, which will provide local entities business and support 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative.

"Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is going all out in its efforts to realise the dream of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. At the heart of its endeavours are enhanced transparency and streamlined contracting practices, which will enable the promotion of a business friendly environment for ONGC's business partners," the company said in a statement.

To promote its renewed push to ease contracted business practices, ONGC organised a special online business partners' meet, titled 'Building Bridges in ONGC's Supply Chain: Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Prosperous India'.

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ONGC chairman and managing director Subhash Kumar, along with company directors, interacted with the equipment and service providers and took their suggestions in order to further improve and simplify procedures.

"ONGC estimates to spend Rs 15,500 crore on major LSTK (lump sum turnkey) projects, Rs 13,600 crore on major services, and Rs 2,250 crore on major material procurement in FY 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022)," the statement said.

At the meet, ONGC shared details on various initiatives such as the introduction of a new development order policy, introduction of online vendor invoice management system, encouragement towards startups, as well as promoting its efforts to encourage indigenous business partners.

Kumar said ONGC is adopting technology-enabled processes that can improve transparency, and minimise human intervention.

O P Singh, Director (Technology & Field Services) and Director In-charge of Materials Management, spoke on promoting localisation initiatives under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

"The move for promoting local ventures is a key driver in this reform exercise by ONGC, whose average annual purchases are in excess of Rs 30,000 crore," he said.

In a free-wheeling interactive session following presentations, ONGC business partners pitched their suggestions for relaxing certain bid evaluation criteria, such as the financial criteria of contracted partners, experience of group companies to be considered for qualification, certification criteria of vessels, realistic completion schedules for turnkey projects, and more.

ONGC management addressed specific queries raised and also assured them that issues raised will be subsequently looked into in order to increase competitive efficiency while prioritising safety, quality and timely completions, the statement added.