State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday said it will procure one lakh oxygen concentrators to aid India’s fight against the world’s worst outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

The company will use its understanding of the global supply chain and logistics to procure one lakh oxygen concentrators on behalf of the government of India, ONGC said in a statement.

The government of India will bear the cost of procuring these concentrators.

“Within a short period, ONGC placed orders for 34,673 oxygen concentrators on overseas vendors for immediate supply. Out of these, 2,900 are expected to be received by May 21, and the rest in staggered delivery from May to the end of June 2021.

“Further, to promote domestic capacity, the order has been placed for 40,000 units of oxygen concentrators on domestic manufacturers,” it said

In addition, medical-grade oxygen generation plants are also being set up with ONGC support in 10 government hospitals in three states.

This is part of the 93 oxygen plants oil PSUs are setting up across the country.

“Continuing its fight against COVID, ONGC has been an active part of the nation-wide vaccination drive promoting the vaccination efforts through regular social media posts. ONGC is also organizing vaccination camps at various work locations across the country for employees and secondary workforce,” it said.

To ensure that vaccination reaches the people of the country, ONGC has also supported COVID vaccine logistics supply chain equipment in Tripura, Nagaland, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand.

ONGC said its employees have been at the forefront of combating the pandemic since its onset in March 2020.

“Amidst restrictions to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, ONGCians have maintained production of oil and gas to ensure the nation’s energy supply,” the statement.

The company further noted that “the Energy Soldiers of ONGC worked extended operational shifts (in offshore and remote onshore oil-field locations) of up to 60 days at a stretch on their own volition (in place of the usual 14/21 days on/off duty pattern) to sustain production during the period when the crew changeover process was hampered for the nation-wide lockdown.”

Because of experience and abundant preparation, in spite of challenges posed due to the second wave of COVID, ONGC is able to maintain its production levels with minimal effect on operations, it added.