The Board of MRPL in its meeting held on 20th January 2009 at New Delhi approved the Financial Results for the third quarter and Nine months ended 31st December 2008

Sudhir Vasudeva will take over as the Director (Offshore) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) from 1st February 2009. He succeeds N K Mitra who superannuates on 31st January 2009. Sudhir Vasudeva’s appointment was formalized by the government on 16th January 2009.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has drawn up an elaborate programme to become carbon neutral. The oil major has set specific targets to complete organization wide Green House Gas (GHG) accounting by 2011, as GHG certification is a pre-requisite to be carbon neutral.

A book ‘Fundamentals of Floating Production System’ authored by Niladri Kumar Mitra, Director (Offshore) of ONGC, was released by the Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Mr. Murli Deora on 14th January 2009 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The book was released during the Ministerial Plenary Session of Petrotech-2009, in the presence of Oil Ministers from various countries.

ONGC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Arrow Energy for co-operation in Coalbed Methane Sector. The MoU has been signed by Mr. D K Pande, Director (Exploration), ONGC and Mr. Nicholas Davies, CEO & MD, Arrow Energy Ltd. today on 14th January 2009 at New Delhi.

In response to the appeal made by the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Maharashtra, on January 8, 2009, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has made special arrangements for supply of gas to Mahanagar Gas Limited for the requirement of CNG vehicles and domestic piped gas supply.

• 96.8% acceptances received from Imperial Energy shareholders

ONGC Petro-additions Limited (“OPAL”), a joint venture company promoted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (“ONGC”) with 26% equity, and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited (“GSPC”), is implementing a mega petrochemicals project in the Special Economic Zone at Dahej, Gujarat.

52 year old Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has formed a 51-officer Think Tank to pump in young and innovative ideas for tackling issues facing the oil major. The 51 officers are all brand new recruits, what the oil major terms Graduate Trainees (GTs).

The Board of Premier Navratna PSU, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has approved an Interim Dividend of 180 % for the financial year 2008-09. This amounts to Rs.18 per equity share, aggregating to Rs.3850 Crore. The most valuable public enterprise in Indian bourses has 213.89 crore paid-up equity shares of Rs. 10 each, after issuing a bonus of 1:2 in 2006.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at New Delhi on 10th December 2008 for mutual cooperation in the fields of Oil and Gas exploration, production and marketing.

MRPL’s mega Project – Phase III- to go onstream by October 2011. Project to cost Rs12412 crore

ONGC CMD R S Sharma is optimistic to attract around a thousand Indian corporations to join the United Nation’s Global Compact movement, an initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies to ways which benefit economies and societies everywhere.

Four more Independent Directors have been inducted in the Board of Navratna public enterprise Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC). They are Ms. Chanda Kochhar, Mr. S S Rajsekar, Mr. S Balachandran and Mr. Santosh Nautiyal.

After encountering several discoveries in Krishna Godavari (KG) Offshore in recent past (including landmark ultradeep discovery at a water depth of 2841metres in December, 2006), ONGC has now struck oil in nomination Block- IG at a water depth of 225metres in well G-4-6, 15 kms off Yanam coast, Andhra Pradesh.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has secured the Gold Trophy for ‘SCOPE Meritorious Award for Good Governance 2006-2007’. The award was presented in New Delhi on 21st November 2008 by the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Mr Santosh Mohan Dev to ONGC CMD Mr R S Sharma, who was also accompanied by the Navratna’s Director (HR) Dr A K Balyan.

ONGC's wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) has bagged two blocks in Colombia, viz. Block CPO 5 and Block SSJN 7. Block CPO 5 is in the highly prospective onshore Llanos Basin in Block SSJN 7 is in prospective onshore Sinu San Jacinto Basin.

ONGC Videsh Ltd. and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc. makes second oil discovery in the North Ramadan Concession, Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has signed an MoU with Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) for joint cooperation in uranium exploration and development.

Q2 FY-09 financial results of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) approved in its 184th meeting of Board held on 30th October 2008 have been impacted by increased subsidy discount to cover the under-recoveries of OMCs to Rs. 12,663 crore from Rs. 3,799 crore in Q2 of FY-08 and Rs. 9,811 crore in Q1 of FY-09.

Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey has mooted formation of a nodal agency to facilitate talent development for the Indian Oil & Gas industry. He was addressing a brainstorming session in the capital on 17th October 2008, organized jointly by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), ONGC and Petrofed.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) commemorated its first oil discovery at Lunej in Anand district of Gujarat. On 5th October 2008, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Murli Deora unveiled the commemorative plaque at the site of the first discovery 50 years ago.

The aggregate dividend for the year 2007-08, recommended by the Board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), has been approved at the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Oil major, held on 19th September 2008 at New Delhi. In absolute terms, this amounts to Rs. 6,844 Crore, the highest-ever by any Indian corporate. This is besides Rs. 1,163 Crore payable as tax on dividend.

GEO India 2008, India’s flagship oil and gas industry event, will be held from 16th to 19th this month at Expo XXI, Greater Noida. Mr. Murli Deora, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, will be inaugurating the Conference at 9.30 am on Wednesday, 17th September.

The Farm-out Agreement has been signed on 15th September 2008 by ONGC Director (Exploration) Mr. D. K. Pande, and Rocksource ASA Chairman Mr. Dag Dvergsten. The agreement to assign participating interest in the block is subject to consent of Oil India and Petrobras International Braspetro (PIB BV) and approval of the Government of India. After assignment of PI, ONGC shall have 45% PI in the block.