Citing the May, 2010, Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's right to frame gas utilisation policy, the ministry last week wrote to Reliance directing it to first supply natural gas from its KG-D6 fields to priority sectors like fertiliser and power, official sources said.
Reliance Industries Limited's chairman Mukesh Ambani last week told company shareholders that his firm will supply gas to ADAG plants as and when they are ready and it is subject to the allocation being made by the government.
Resuming arguments over its dispute with Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Natural Resources Ltd, senior counsel Harish Salve said it was RNRL which had in 2007 argued that marketing freedom cannot be allowed to the Mukesh Ambani-run firm and asked the government to frame Gas Utilisation Policy.
Seeking permission to amend its special leave petition filed in July, the government asked the Supreme Court to set aside only the Bombay High Court judgement that relates to the interpretation of its gas utilisation policy and provisions of the production sharing contract.
RIL now has the capacity to produce 60 mmscmd but is constrained to produce less as the government is yet to identify customers beyond the initial 40 mmscmd that had been allocated primarily to fertiliser and power producers in accordance with the Gas Utilisation Policy.
Reliance Industries has refused to give natural gas to new customers by cutting supplies to power and fertiliser plants.
Bids were received for only 36 of the 70 blocks that were on offer.
Replying to a calling-attention motion in Rajya Sabha, oil minister Murli Deora said the $4.2 per million British thermal unit price fixed for gas produced from KG-D6 fields of RIL was lower than the average of $5.51 per mmBtu charged by UK's BG-led consortium for Panna/Mukta and Tapti gas. It was also lower than the $4.3 per mmBtu price of gas produced from Cairn's Ravva Satellite fields and $4.75 per mmBtu for the UK firm's Lakshmi fields.
State-run NTPC, Essar Power and Torrent are among the firms identified by the Union power ministry for buying natural gas from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore D6 block.
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