After the success of Barmer oil fields in Rajasthan, Cairn India - the second largest oil and natural gas explorer in the country - bets heavily on wildcat drilling.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on gas headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday decided that gas allocation from RIL's D-6 block will be made to power projects subject to availability and without prejudice to court decisions, according to a government release.
With pricing of natural gas from the KG-D6 block stuck, Mukesh Ambani made the second trip to New Delhi this month to meet top officials.
India's fiscal deficit is projected to more than double to 6 per cent of GDP this fiscal against the budgetary target of 2.5 per cent. For the next fiscal, the deficit is estimated to be 5.5 per cent of GDP.
India's brittle energy security is inextricably linked to two opposing paradigms - fossil fuels, and the transition to green energy. The first powers the present; the second paves the way for Viksit Bharat in 2047.
Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Natural Resources on Friday posted a marginal increase in its net profit for the third quarter and said it hopes to get gas from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields once the group's Dadri power plant begins operations.
In an attempt to hold on to its exploration blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is in talks with British Gas (BG) and British Petroleum (BP) for joint exploration in four offshore blocks in the region.
Reliance Industries on Monday said it has no plans to spin off its Krishna Godavari gas field into a separate company and rope in a strategic partner.
An uncontrolled flow of gas started from the Well G-1-9 in Bay of Bengal around August 30.
The government told the court that price of gas, determined by an empowered group of ministers, is applicable to all the buyers, whether they are government companies or private. The government will file an affidavit to this effect on Tuesday.
Reliance Industries has signed agreements with nine fertiliser and power companies for gas sales from its field in the Krishna-Godavari basin over the past three months. India's largest private sector company has signed memorandums of understanding with Nagarjuna Fertilisers, GVK Industries, Konaseema Power (all in Andhra Pradesh), Kribhco, Chambal Fertilisers, Iffco, Torrent Power (all in Gujarat), Tata Power and Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilisers in Maharashtra.
CPCL, in which Indian Oil holds 51 per cent stake, runs a 9.5-million tonnes per annum refinery at Manali in Chennai.
Upstream regulator DGH has suggested that the $1.235-billion investment of Reliance Industries should be disallowed over the Mukesh Ambani-run firm's failure to adhere to prestated drilling and gas production targets, but the oil ministry is yet to agree on the numbers.
ONGC will continue as the operator of the deepwater block, KG-DWN-2004/6 with a 34 per cent participating interest in consortium with existing partners GAIL (India) Limited, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Oil India Limited.
The company has chalked out a detailed plan for development of its existing KG basin assets after integration with GSPC facilities.
India on Tuesday opened its largest oil and gas bid round, offering 25 blocks covering 1.91 lakh square kilometers mostly in offshore area, as the government looks to boost domestic production to cut imports and help energy security. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched the 10th bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) at the India Energy Week (IEW) in Mumbai.
It added this wasn't aimed at benefiting Reliance Industries Ltd alone.
India's natural gas production is projected to jump by 52 per cent to 122 million standard cubic metres per day by 2024 as state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd-BP combine raise output from the KG basin fields. Natural gas production in 2019-20 was 85 mmscmd, which is estimated to have fallen to 80 mmscmd in the following year, HDFC Securities said in a report. The output is projected to rise in the current fiscal that started on April 1 to 93 mmscmd, 107 mmscmd in the following year and 122 mmscmd in 2023-24, the brokerage estimated.
The government has slapped a $2.81 billion (about Rs 24,500 crore) demand notice on Reliance Industries and its partners, including BP Plc for gains made from producing and selling natural gas that may have migrated from neighbouring block of state-owned ONGC. This follows the Delhi high court's decision on February 14, overturning an international arbitration tribunal ruling that held the duo not responsible for paying any compensation for the gas they produced and sold which had allegedly migrated from adjoining fields.
RIL said production capacity from KG-D6 has far exceeded the 40 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd), for which buyers have been tied-up, and has asked the government to immediately name customers for an additional 25 mmscmd so as to avoid irreversible damage to the field reservoirs.
US energy major Chevron Corp will buy upto 40 per cent stake in Reliance Industry's gas rich D-6 block in KG Basin and become a co-promoter of its new export oriented refinery.
Shares of Reliance Industries plunged on Friday after a court ruling that the Mukesh Ambani-led company can not sell its KG basin gas to any company except NTPC and Anil Ambani group's Reliance Natural Resources.
Norway-based Aker Solutions, appointed by ONGC to explore the possibility of sharing RIL's infrastructural facilities on the East Coast, is expected to submit its final report next month, sources close to the development said.
Commenting on the EGoM decision regarding supply of KG gas to upcoming power projects, RIL counsel Harish Salve said, "Government has no right to allocate gas." He clarified that his client was opposed to this stand of the government.
BPCL is a high revenue-earning public-sector undertaking (PSU) and plans to privatise it are completely off the table, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday after assuming charge of the ministry for the second time. "Why would we divest ourselves of highly successful Maharatnas like BPCL," Puri said, arguing the Centre was not in favour of divesting its stake in oil PSUs.
India's biggest oil and gas bid round attracted four bidders that included state-owned ONGC and OIL and private sector Vedanta Ltd, with most blocks getting just two bids, according to Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). The OALP-IX bid round, where 28 blocks or areas spread over 1.36 lakh square kilometre were offered for finding and producing oil and gas, for the first time saw Reliance Industries Ltd-bp plc combine bidding together with ONGC for one block in Gujarat offshore.
An open letter to the prime minister on the Rangarajan formula doubling the price of KG basin gas
Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 gas field has seen output drop to 29 million units a day, against a planned 80 million units, causing acute shortage in power generation, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy said on Tuesday.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation had in 2007 farmed out 15 per cent stake in the KG-DWN-98/2 block, which sits next to Reliance Industries' KG-D6 block, to Brazil's state-controlled oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras.
1,400 km pipeline will transport gas from KG basin to west coast.
The Bombay high court has modified the interim order on the sale of KG basin gas by Reliance Industries.
The crux of the ongoing court case between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) on Monday was pricing of the gas produced from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin.
Saurabh Patel, energy minister, Gujarat, who has handled the energy portfolio since 2002, speaks to Archis Mohan on GPSC's investment in the KG basin and says the criticism is politically motivated.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil firm, has offered ONGC its 15 per cent interest in the Krishna Godavari basin block that sits next to Reliance Industries prolific KG-D6 fields without any cost.
Prices of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity, make fertiliser and is converted into CNG to run automobiles, were on Friday hiked by a steep 40 per cent to record levels, in step with global firming up of energy rates. The rate paid for gas produced from old fields, which make up for about two-thirds of all gas produced in the country, was hiked to $8.57 per million British thermal units from the current $6.1, according to an order from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). Simultaneously, the price of gas from difficult and newer fields like the ones in Reliance Industries Ltd and its partner bp plc operated deepsea D6 block in KG basin, was hiked to $12.6 per mmBtu from $9.92, the order said.
Britains' Cairn Energy has offered to sell its stake in two oil and gas blocks in Krishna Godavari basin to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation for $100 million and 15 per cent equity in state-run firm's two blocks.\n\n\n\n
BG Group of UK is planning to buy stake in ONGC's oil and gas blocks.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has written to the Oil Ministry seeking appointment of an international expert to assess if Reliance Industries Ltd was drawing out any of its gas in KG basin.
The 28 discoveries include Charada structure and Matar field in Cambay basin (Gujarat) and YSAF in KG basin (off Andhra Pradesh coast), the company said. The discoveries made in FY'09 have been notified to the directorate general of hydrocarbons.
The empowered group of ministers, however, decided to allocate the initial 40 million standard cubic metre per day of gas from KG-D6 basin to the existing power and fertiliser plants and proposed units like the captive power plant at Nagothane did not figure in the scheme of things. A company spokesperson confirmed the scrapping of the project.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances