ONGC stops offshore helicopter operations during monsoon to avoid accidents

New Delhi: India’s largest oil and gas producer ONGC has drastically reduced its helicopter flights to its mid-sea facilities on the east and west coasts for three months to avoid a repeat of the fatal accidents during the monsoon season that have tarnished the company’s otherwise impeccable record, sources said.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has increased the duration of work-related stay of its employees on offshore platforms that help in oil and gas extraction beneath the seabed from 14 to 21 days, still below the international norm of 28 days.

The temporary measure will only last for three months, from June to August, and is intended to reduce the number of helicopter missions needed to transport people and equipment to the facilities, two sources familiar with the matter said.

ONGC did not respond to an email asking why a 21-day cycle is being followed while a 28-day cycle is in place internationally.

Internationally, offshore oil and gas plant personnel are required to stay on rigs and platforms for 28 days at a time and then take the same number of days off. The rigs and platforms are equipped with sleeping quarters, kitchens and recreation areas. The 28-day rule is also observed by private operators in India.

However, for no particular reason, ONGC follows a 14-day cycle: 14 days at sea and then 14 days off.

Of the 25,000 employees, only 1,200 are stationed at offshore facilities at any given time.

The 14-day cycle means that helicopters, which are considered the least safe aircraft to fly during the monsoon season when the sea is rough, will have to carry out more sorties to transport people and materials. Unlike planes, helicopters have to fly through dark clouds, which, combined with a similarly coloured sea when it rains, create unsafe flying conditions.

ONGC had lost precious lives in the past during helicopter operations during the monsoon season. The last such accident occurred on June 28, 2022, when four people died when a helicopter crashed in the Arabian Sea near ONGC’s Sagar Kiran rig.

The helicopter, carrying nine crew members, was attempting to land on the Sagar Kiran oil rig, located 111 kilometres west of Mumbai’s coast, when the incident occurred. The helicopter crashed into the sea about 1.5 kilometres from the landing zone on the offshore oil rig.

The worst offshore accident in ONGC’s history occurred in 2003, when a Russian Mi-172 helicopter on a mission to one of the company’s facilities crashed into the Arabian Sea, killing 27 people. The accident occurred a year after a Dauphin helicopter leased by ONGC crashed into the sea and four months after a Bell 412 helicopter carrying ONGC personnel crashed while landing at the Juhu airfield in Mumbai.

According to sources, ONGC management has taken this decision keeping in mind the safety of its employees.

Last month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead after their helicopter crashed in fog, raising alarm at ONGC.

According to sources, ONGC will return to the 14-day cycle after the monsoon season.

According to them, the 21-day cycle for the period from June to August is not a cost-saving measure, but primarily a safety issue.

By reducing the stakes, the company would save Rs 80-100 crore in fuel costs, which is hardly a significant amount considering the annual expenditure of over Rs 96,000 crore. They said that bringing in ONGC would only save fuel costs as it would continue to cover the fixed rental charges for the entire period.

ONGC operates several offshore platforms and rigs in its Mumbai High and West Coast fields in the Arabian Sea, which together produce about half of the country’s oil and gas. The company also operates a similar fleet in the east of the country in the Bay of Bengal.