New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Essar Oilfield Services Ltd iseyeing a 20 per cent jump in revenues next fiscal as thecountry's focus on raising domestic output propels a stagnantrig hire market.
The company, which owns 16 rigs used for drilling of oiland gas, is expected to end the current fiscal with a revenueof Rs 300 crore, up from Rs 105 crore in the previous year,its CEO Rajeev Nayyer said.
"In the next fiscal, we are expecting a 20 per cent risein revenues to Rs 360 crore" as more of the company's rigs arehired by explorers, he told PTI.
Of the 16 rigs it holds, 15 are on-land drilling rig andone is submersible rig. Three of the on-land rigs are in Dubaiand out of the remaining 12, the company expects at leasteight to be hired by explorers, the CEO said.
The company's offshore semi-submersible rig, the EssarWildcat, is already deployed on a three-year contract withstate-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) since May 2017,Nayyer added.
Public and private sector firms are stepping on gas toexplore and produce more oil and gas as they look to meetPrime Minister Narendra Modi's target of cutting importdependence by 10 per cent by 2022.
India currently imports over 80 per cent of its oilneeds.
Nayyer said three of the land rigs are in operationthrough contracts with Oil India Ltd (OIL) and MercatorPetroleum, and another five are likely to be placed nextfiscal.
"More contracts are under negotiation," he said, addingthat the company is benefiting from upswing in the country'supstream sector.
"We are close to signing more contracts with clients,both new and old — so FY 2018-19 will also see us growing ourrevenues further to Rs 360 crore," Nayyer said.
The current fiscal, he said, has really been a landmarkyear for the company with turnaround in revenues aftercommencing drilling for contracted clients.
"There is an upswing in exploration activity in India,and we are glad that we have the expertise and resources tosupport the prime minister's call for increasing domesticcrude production, thus ensuring the countryÂ’s energysecurity," he said.
Asked about rig hire rates, he said rates have bottomedout and the company's rigs are commanding "decent" price.
He, however, neither disclosed the rig hire rates or thecompany's profitability. PTI ANZBAL.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.