Battle lines have been drawn in a contest for a coveted offshore contract from India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the fifth redevelopment phase of its flagship Mumbai High field off the country’s western coast.

Technical bids for the offshore engineering, procurement, construction and installation deal were recently submitted by two players, with ONGC expected to finalise its preferred contractor within weeks, several sources familiar with the process told Upstream.

ONGC has carried out multiple redevelopment phases at the ageing Mumbai High asset over the past two decades, aimed at rejuvenating production from one of India’s oldest offshore oilfields.