According to RS Sharma, Chairman of ONGC, under new norms offshore oil and gas operations will collapse. Interestingly, the shipping ministry of India has issued some guidelines to offshore oil and gas operators which are regulatory in means and methodology. Earlier in the month of May this year, the Directorate General of Shipping had banned operations of all vessels that are more than 25 years old, and now this is another major policy change, it seems.

 

Factually ONGC has more than 100 vessels which are in operation in the East and West coast and provide supporting services to oil and gas production of India. Similarly, on the line of RS Sharma, a Reliance Industries executive said that his company faced a similar fate for its 40-plus vessels working on bringing the gas field in Krishna Godavari basin to production. Sharma added that ONGC’s vessels have all necessary safety certification from international bodies and there is no compromise on the safety aspect.