ONGC Stops Operations At Two Rigs In Arabian Sea As COVID-19 Strikes; India Numbers Reach 4,40,215

State owned ONGC has temporarily suspended operations at two drilling rigs in the Arabian Sea. This comes after 54 employees tested for coronavirus and one died. Operations at two rigs operating in the firm's prime Mumbai High and Bassein fields off the west coast were temporarily suspended after the company's testing rigour detected COVID-19 positive cases, officials said. As per reports, suspension of operations has not impacted production it continues to produce 1,70,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil & 12 metric million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas from Mumbai High & 60,000 bpd oil and 32 mmscmd gas from Bassein. Mumbai High and Bassein are India's top oil and gas producing fields, accounting for almost a two-third of the country's production. India has added 14,933 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the infection tally to 4,40,215 while the death count rose to 14,011 with 312 new fatalities. Maharashtra, the worst affected state in the country, recorded 1,35,790 cases with 6,283 deaths. Mumbai accounts for 67,586 cases in the state while neighbouring Thane accounts for 25,390 cases. Mumbai's death count stands at 3,737. On June 23, Delhi emerged as the second worst-hit state with 62,655 cases and 2,233 deaths. Tamil Nadu is the third worst affected with 62,087 cases and 794 deaths.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2020 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).