India’s state‑controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has cancelled a major offshore rig tender after bid prices spiked by around 60% and the company raised concerns over potential collusive practices. The tender sought to hire four jackup rigs on five‑year terms as part of ONGC’s broader offshore drilling programme in Indian waters. However, the company said day rates in the bid climbed from about $35,606 to $56,195, a jump it described as “significantly beyond the bounds of reasonable and competitive market behaviour.” ONGC said the “unusually steep escalation” in pricing, combined with the overall bidding pattern and prevailing global conditions, justified a decision to call off the procurement. “The organisation identified pricing escalation patterns that deviated substantially from reasonable market behaviour, forcing a critical decision point that would impact both immediate procurement outcomes and broader industry integrity standards,” the company said in a statement. ONGC added that it had “legitimate concerns regarding potential collusive practices” and that it was “duty‑bound to examine these concerns,” which ultimately led to the decision to cancel the tender. The company discouraged any form of unfair trade practices, including “predatory pricing, collusive bidding, or coordinated actions aimed at distorting market dynamics.” This also means that the timeline of ONGC’s offshore drilling program has been affected, as well as the conditions under which it can successfully re‑tender the rigs. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsIndia