For decades, ONGC was a virtual monopoly when it came to oil and gas in India. Now, CMD R.S Sharma finds that players like Reliance and Cairn can outsmart and outrun it. ratan lal bhagat analyses his dilemma.
As the car virtually hurtled away from the Ahmedabad airport after an uneventful flight, my flight of fancy took over in an almost childish manner. Here I was, all set to see what so many had passionately described as Black Gold. The jolts that I encountered as the driver played footsie with the accelerator was bliss compared to the torture that the corporate communications guy had put me through; before he even made my office pay for the trip! My seniors had consoled me and persuaded me to persist badgering the PR guy. Their logic was: since he is a de facto government employee and since you are not Barkha Dutt, you have to persist. After months of frustration, I was finally headed towards an oil well being drilled by ONGC, India’s most profitable company. I was excited because I had heard many professionals and even journalists talk about the ‘high’ you get when you can see oil literally gushing out of a field. And I was silently thankful to R.S. Sharma, the Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC who personally facilitated this trip despite the incredible inertia displayed by his corporate communications people. It wasn’t exactly the same, but I couldn’t help recalling the first time I hired a cab to go on a date.
It was virtually an anti-climax when we reached the ONGC drilling site about 40 kilometres away from Ahmedabad. There was no gushing oil that I could see. Nor could I see men throwing their hard hats and cheering and cursing in a manner that resembles a confirmed bachelor suddenly discovering that he does want something! But, after the first bout of disappointment at not having seen what I had fantasised about, I began to see the complex web of pipes, equipment, hats, sucker rod pumps, et al, in a more sober and realistic light. And within a few hours, I got to actually first see oil definetly not gushing out as we see in movies-but quietly gurgling away in separators at the ONGC facility in Kalol near Ahmedabad.
As the car virtually hurtled away from the Ahmedabad airport after an uneventful flight, my flight of fancy took over in an almost childish manner. Here I was, all set to see what so many had passionately described as Black Gold. The jolts that I encountered as the driver played footsie with the accelerator was bliss compared to the torture that the corporate communications guy had put me through; before he even made my office pay for the trip! My seniors had consoled me and persuaded me to persist badgering the PR guy. Their logic was: since he is a de facto government employee and since you are not Barkha Dutt, you have to persist. After months of frustration, I was finally headed towards an oil well being drilled by ONGC, India’s most profitable company. I was excited because I had heard many professionals and even journalists talk about the ‘high’ you get when you can see oil literally gushing out of a field. And I was silently thankful to R.S. Sharma, the Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC who personally facilitated this trip despite the incredible inertia displayed by his corporate communications people. It wasn’t exactly the same, but I couldn’t help recalling the first time I hired a cab to go on a date.
It was virtually an anti-climax when we reached the ONGC drilling site about 40 kilometres away from Ahmedabad. There was no gushing oil that I could see. Nor could I see men throwing their hard hats and cheering and cursing in a manner that resembles a confirmed bachelor suddenly discovering that he does want something! But, after the first bout of disappointment at not having seen what I had fantasised about, I began to see the complex web of pipes, equipment, hats, sucker rod pumps, et al, in a more sober and realistic light. And within a few hours, I got to actually first see oil definetly not gushing out as we see in movies-but quietly gurgling away in separators at the ONGC facility in Kalol near Ahmedabad.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)
