Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) of India has awarded Baker Hughes a five-year contract to provide drilling and evaluation services and to manage third-party services for the Platinum Explorer drillship.

Under the terms of the contract, Baker Hughes will supply directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling, logging-while-drilling, surface logging services, drilling fluids, liner hangers, cementing and coring services. Baker Hughes also will manage third-party services for air and sea logistics, the onshore base, and wellheads. Vantage Drilling's Platinum Explorer drillship is capable of drilling high-pressure, high- temperature (HP/HT) wells in water depths up to 10,000 feet.

ONGC currently contributes approximately 75 percent of India's oil production and 54 percent of the country's gas production.

"We are extremely pleased to be bringing our wealth of experience in deepwater well construction to ONGC's operations in India's deep waters," notes Richard Ward, president of Asia Pacific for Baker Hughes. "The size and scope of this project provide Baker Hughes a strong foundation from which to grow our operations in India's deepwater province. We look forward to further strengthening the relationship with ONGC by delivering increased value to their operations from our technology and service portfolio."

Tags: Baker Hughes, ONGC