ONGC in Assam: Loot, Neglect and the Slow Death of a Maharatna in Oil Country

What was once the pride of Assam, the mighty Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has today become a shadow of itself. On paper, ONGC remains India’s richest public sector oil giant, boasting Maharatna status and profits running into thousands of crores. But on the ground in Assam—the very soil that nourished its rise—what remains is a sordid tale of theft, neglect, and systematic exploitation.

Over the past months, Pratidin Time has pieced together a disturbing picture of how Assam’s resources are being siphoned off, not just by outsiders but allegedly with the connivance of ONGC’s own officials.

Thefts Under CISF’s Nose

At the heart of the controversy lies a shocking series of thefts at ONGC’s Assam Assets office in Nazira. Despite layers of security—the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), ONGC’s internal wing, and Home Guards—crude oil and valuable equipment continue to vanish. From Lakuwa and Mechagarh to Geleki and Dimuwal, oilfields are being looted right under the nose of authorities.

How are burglars walking into one of the most heavily guarded campuses, which even bars parents from entering its Kendriya Vidyalaya school? How are materials stored openly in front of the ONGC head office mysteriously stolen and then “sold off” elsewhere? The questions remain unanswered.

Local suspicions are blunt: insiders are involved.

From Oilfields to Private Pockets

Sources reveal the existence of a strong Gujarati lobby within ONGC, with most current officials reportedly hailing from Gujarat. These officials are posted in Assam for a short tenure—often six months to a year—during which they survey oilfields and declare them “dry” based on well numbers. Soon after, the tenders for these fields are processed and awarded to private players, primarily from Gujarat, for drilling and extraction.

CPI State Secretary Kanak Gogoi alleges that this is not accidental but a deliberate pattern. “Certain officials routinely mark fields as dry, only to lease them out to private players. Once retired, they reappear as managing directors of the very lands they sold off,” he told Pratidin Time.

Today, most of Assam’s 230 oilfields have been leased to private firms, many of whom lack proper technical expertise. The result: fewer rigs, fewer surveys, fewer employees—and for Assam, the gradual collapse of its oil-based economy.

Vanishing Jobs, Rising Discontent

In the 1990s, ONGC Assam employed more than 11,000 people. Today, that number has dipped below 3,000. Retirements are not being matched with fresh recruitment, leaving thousands of educated youths in Sivasagar and beyond disillusioned.

Even existing employees are simmering with anger. Overtime allowances—once a lifeline for lower-level staff—have been scrapped. A controversial “Promotion Link Transfer” (PLT) policy now forces employees to leave Assam if they want a promotion, effectively uprooting local staff and hollowing out the workforce in the state.

“The top officials enjoy ONGC’s wealth like royalty,” says a disheartened employee, “but the ordinary worker is being squeezed out.”

CSR: Crores for Outsiders, Pennies for Assam

Perhaps the most bitter truth lies in ONGC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending. In FY 2024 alone, ONGC spent ₹634 crore under CSR. But much of this money went outside Assam—Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat—while oil-rich Sivasagar’s people continue to live with crumbling roads and inadequate hospitals.

When ONGC finally inaugurated a ₹483-crore hospital in 2019—the Siu-Ka-Pha Multispeciality Hospital —expectations were high. But instead of a people’s hospital, it became a private corporate facility, managed by an Aurangabad-based firm. Ordinary patients simply cannot afford its services.

CSR funds, once monitored by district committees, are now routed through select NGOs, many based outside Assam. The shift, employees allege, comes with hefty commissions pocketed by officials.

Ghost Buildings, Empty Promises

Adding insult to injury, ONGC has quietly shifted many of its core offices—finance, tendering, logistics, and even legal—to Delhi and other cities. Massive buildings constructed in Assam with crores of rupees now stand as hollow reminders of misplaced priorities.

If ONGC’s main operations are being moved out, why was public money spent on building lavish campuses in Assam? The silence from ONGC headquarters has only deepened mistrust.

The Bigger Picture: Assam as a Colony

For decades, Assam has fueled India’s oil economy. From the wells of Digboi to the rigs of Geleki, the state’s black gold has flowed steadily to the rest of the country. Yet, Assam’s people remain bystanders to their own wealth.

ONGC’s expansion into Tripura, Gujarat, and even overseas projects contrasts sharply with its shrinking footprint in Assam. The state’s youths are denied jobs, its environment is degraded, and its health systems neglected—all while ONGC posts quarterly profits of over ₹8,000 crore.

As one local observer puts it: “For ONGC, Assam is not a partner. It’s just a colony.”

The Road Ahead

The Communist Party of India and several regional voices have demanded accountability. They are not asking for ONGC’s ouster but for reform—an end to insider corruption, fair recruitment for local youths, and reinvestment of CSR funds where the oil is actually extracted.

But will ONGC listen? Or will it continue to treat Assam as an oil well to be drained, while its officials and private partners grow rich at the cost of the state’s future?

For now, the saga of loot and neglect continues. And with every barrel extracted, Assam is left poorer—not richer.

Also Read: Oil Leak on NH-37 After ONGC Pipeline Rupture in Assam's Sivasagar