The total crude production in the country declined to the 1996-97 level of 32.90 million tonne, after a marginal increase to 33.85 million tonne in 1997-98. Last year proved that the slide in oil production since the all-time high of 35 million tonne in 1995-96 was a trend.

ONGC CMD Bikash Chandra Bora said the oil company's crude production had suffered last year because of the ongoing rehabilitation work at the Bombay High fields. Bora predicted a `reversal' in the trend beginning next year, now that the upstream company had begun drilling new wells.

The ONGC's crude production dropped by a whopping 5.9 per cent last year, to 26.59 million tonne from 28.25 million tonne in 1997-98. The nearly two million tonne decline in output at the ONGC oil wells could not be made up despite the improved performance of theother oil producers.

Oil India Limited (OIL) and the unincorporated joint ventures between ONGC or OIL and private sector companies, produced more crude last year than in the year before. Oil India's crude oil production in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh increased by 6.4 per cent during the 1998-99 fiscal to 3.29 million tonne.

The unincorporated joint ventures in operation at oilfields like Panna-Mukta or Tapti, together produced 3.02 million tonne of crude during 1998-99, which was 20.1 per cent higher than in the year before. During 1997-98 the joint venture companies had produced only 2.51 million tonne of crude oil.

ONGC, went through a bad patch, the aftermath of which is likely to continue this year. The company's oil production in Gujarat suffered because of frequent power shut-downs by the Gujarat Electricity Board. In Assam, environmental problems and the increase in `water-cut' hit oil production, but the Assam fields managed to produce 15.3 per cent more crude last year than in 1997-98.