Hitech Drilling Services India, promoted by Tata Industries and SEDCO Forex International Drilling in May '85 is engaged in oil exploration and provides drilling rigs to ONGC on service contracts renewable every two years. It has two offshore jack-up rigs Hitdrill I and Hitdrill II, both on charter hire to ONGC and the Hitdrill I has commenced drilling operation on Feb 1, 2000. It also has a floating oil production facility, Tahara, which is also leased.
The company went public in 1987. Hitech Drilling is the first company to secure the first private sector offshore drilling contract in India. It has signed a contract with Command Petroleum, Australia, to provide an offshore drilling rig for drilling 28 development / exploratory wells in the Ravva field offshore the east coast of India. Hi-tech has entered into an agreement with the US company owning the rig which was mobilised from the Gulf of Mexico to Madras and drilling operations were commenced.
ONGC's requirement for charter hire of offshore drilling rigs is expected to remain stable or increase marginally this year and the company is confident of its continued employment in future. Further its contract with Hardy Exploration & Production India Inc. for floating production unit, TAHARA alongwith a storage and offload tanker has been extended for one more year.
On March 18, 2001 the Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Limited signed an agreement with Tata Industries Ltd, for acquiring TIL's 22.5% shareholding in the company. Therafter Aban acquired TIL's 22.5 % shares in Hitech driilling at the price of Rs.92/- per equity shares and made an open offer at the same price for fully paidup and Rs.87 for partly paid up equity. Since Aban's open offer was successful the merger proposal with Aban Loyd Chiles was mooted and the company's Board accepted this merger scheme. The swap ratio for the merger, which was effective from April 1,2001, was fixed at 5:2 that is for 5 shares of Hitech Drilling 2 shares of Aban Loyd were alloted.