The Indian government has granted domestic oil and gas exploration major ONGC Limited a one-year exemption from mandatory domestic procurement of seamless steel pipes for submarine application, a government official said on Wednesday, December 4.
In response to an application seeking exemption, the grievance committee on Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel Products Policy that makes domestic steel usage mandatory for government projects ruled that local steel mills are not able supply seamless steel pipes of 16 inch diameter and below and hence ONGC will be exempted from local sourcing of the product and will be free to source them through imports for its offshore oil and gas projects for one year, the official said.
ONGC had sought an exemption for three years, the official added.
However, the one-year exemption has been granted to ONGC subject to the condition that the latter places ‘developmental orders’ with domestic steel mills for its requirement of seamless steel tubes for submarine applications to enable the local steel industry to establish the right capacities to cater to its demand, the official added.