New Delhi, April 22 : State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Wednesday clarified that its decision to cancel a recent tender for hiring jack-up rigs was based on concerns over pricing anomalies and potential collusive bidding.

The clarification comes in response to a media report suggesting the cancellation of the tender.

The PSU firm said that it follows established public procurement principles, with a strong focus on transparency, fairness and promoting healthy competition.

It also added that all participants are expected to submit genuinely competitive bids, while any form of unfair trade practices, including predatory pricing or collusive bidding is discouraged.

The evaluation of the tender revealed an unusually steep rise of around 60 per cent in pricing levels, with day rates increasing from $35,606 to $56,195 within a span of about nine months, the company said.

Such an escalation was considered beyond reasonable and competitive market behaviour, ONGC said.

The Maharatna PSU also stated that the overall bid patterns and prevailing global conditions raised concerns over possible collusive practices.

"As a responsible public procurer, ONGC was duty-bound to examine these concerns, which ultimately led to the decision to cancel the tender," the company said.

ONGC reiterated that the move was aimed at safeguarding organisational interests, ensuring prudent use of public funds and maintaining the integrity of the procurement process. It added that the decision was based solely on pricing reasonableness, competitive integrity and adherence to procurement norms, without any external influence.

The company said it remains committed to transparent engagement with the industry and will continue to encourage fair and competitive participation, while taking necessary steps to prevent cartelisation and protect the sanctity of its procurement processes.

Shares of ONGC on Wednesday jumped as much as 0.68 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 285.05 on the NSE by 11:40 A.M.

/IANS