Govt to auction 69 marginal fields owned by ONGC, Oil India

The government will soon auction 69 marginal oil and gas fields owned by state explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Oil India, oil secretary said on Tuesday.

"Marginal field policy will have approval soon for 69 fields which ONGC and Oil India have agreed to give. We hope to put them for bidding," Saurabh Chandra told reporters in New Delhi.

Chandra said the two state explorers would invest $6 billion in exploration and production in the year ending March 2016, as they look to arrest declining oil and gas production.

(Reuters)