ONGC shuts Panna and Mukta fields after blast

Mumbai: Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) said operations at the Panna and Mukta fields off the country's west coast were shut yesterday after an explosion in one of the areas.

"There was minor damage in the equipment at Panna and that has forced us to shut gas and oil production," Sudhir Vasudeva, ONGC executive director, said yesterday.

The company operates the Panna, Mukti and Tapti fields jointly with Reliance Industries and BG Group. The companies have declared force majeure, he said.

Gas production at the fields has been cut to 13.6 million cubic metres a day from the daily average of 17.3 million cubic metres, Vasudeva said. Production of 40,000 barrels a day of oil has also been hit. The fields produce 20 per cent of India's gas supply of 85 million cubic metres a day.