RNRL had sought 28 mscmd of gas for 17 years at $2.34 per million British thermal units (mBtu) from Mukesh Ambani's RIL.
India may source liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia and Qatar for restarting the $2.9 billion Dabhol power plant.
The Power Ministry is believed to have instructed state-run NTPC to sign a gas supply deal with Mukesh Ambani-led RIL to lift government allotted quota, while favouring that marketing margins be decided by the Oil Ministry instead of the supplier.
On February 24, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation on Ukraine, few would have thought that Indian government-owned GAIL India would feel the impact. The tensions over gas supplies were essentially a Europe-Russia problem, related to the sanctions western economies imposed on Moscow. But the EU depends on Russian imports for 40 per cent of its gas stocks, an over-dependence that Russia has underlined with Kremlin-owned Gazprom cutting its supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 per cent, citing maintenance issues.
Authorities have blamed local tribesmen for carrying out similarly bombing gas pipelines and railroads, as well as rocket attacks targeting security forces.
Industrialist Anil Ambani on Wednesday met key ministers and senior government officials in New delhi, a day after he accused the Union oil ministry of helping the Mukesh Ambani-run RIL renege its commitment on supplying gas to his group firm.
The government on Wednesday mandated the petroleum ministry to hold dialogue with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Myanmar to secure natural gas supplies through pipelines to meet demand of the country.
The government on Thursday more than doubled the price of natural gas that is used to produce electricity, make fertilisers, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking, on the back of a spike in global energy prices. The price of gas produced from old regulated fields, such as the nation's largest gas field of Bassein of ONGC, will rise to a record high of $6.10 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) from the current $2.90 per mmBtu, according to the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The new price, which is likely to result in a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas rates, will be for six months beginning April 1.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas would be issuing instructions for fresh gas allocation from D6 this week.
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On June 27, the Cabinet approved a new formula that uses weighted average of the price of LNG into India and average price at major gas hubs.
Tehran is seeking at least 7.2 dollars per mBtu price for gas it wants to sell to India and Pakistan through the over 7 billion dollar pipeline while New Delhi is willing to pay no more than 4.2 dollars per mBtu for gas delivered at its border.
Safety will be the top priority for India while deciding the medium of transportation of gas now being negotiated with Iran, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said in Teheran on Monday.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, is back on a growth path after six months of challenges as it posted better than expected earnings in the December quarter, brokerages said.
A major fire broke out at GAIL's natural gas pipeline in South Delhi's Satyaniketan area after it was perforated by civic construction contractors but there were no casualties reported.
Here is a list of Q & As to explain these issues and implications of the US move.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President JD Vance have expressed satisfaction with the progress made in negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. The two leaders met in New Delhi and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including cooperation in energy, defense, strategic technologies, and other areas. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Rising energy demand could tilt India's energy basket towards fossil fuels from coal to oil, natural gas.
Russian shipments averaged 1.67 million barrels per day in January compared to 1.48 million bpd in December and 1.53 million bpd a year earlier.
Government's counsel Mohan Parasaran has said he was left out of the details of a special leave petition filed by petroleum ministry in Supreme Court seeking annulment of a family MoU between Mukesh and Anil Ambani group firms on gas supply.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp has shut some wells on two onland gas fields in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh following the fire in a pipeline that carried the gas to consumers.
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.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Friday said it may sell gas from its KG-D6 fields to RNRL at $4.20 per mmBtu if the government allocates fuel to the Anil Ambani Group firm.
The move comes within days of RNRL approaching the apex court to become a party to the petition filed by NTPC against RIL that seeks quashing of the Bombay high court, which allowed the Mukesh Ambani group firm to amend its petition.
French energy giant TotalEnergies SE on Monday said it will make no new financial contribution as part of its investments in Adani group companies till the Indian firm's founder is cleared of bribery charges. The energy giant said it was not aware of the investigation into the alleged corruption. TotalEnergies is one of the biggest foreign investors in billionaire Gautam Adani's business empire and had previously taken stakes in the group's renewable energy venture Adani Green Energy Ltd (AEGL) and city gas unit Adani Total Gas Ltd (ATGL).
The pipelines will be from Iran to India through Pakistan, from Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan, and from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh, Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
Government has no role in fixing prices of natural gas produced from areas auctioned under NELP and only approves the pricing formula, petroleum ministry has told a committee of Secretaries appointed to look into the vexed issue.
Last week, RIL and urea companies failed to settle the key terms of gas supply from April 1 upon expiry of the five-year contracts that priced gas from the eastern offshore KG-D6 fields at $4.205 per million British thermal units.
In the run up to the general election, Aam Aadmi Party had alleged that RIL's partner Niko Resources was selling KG-D6 gas in Bangladesh for half the $4.2 per million British thermal unit rate that India pays them.
India's economic growth rate decelerated to 6.2 per cent in the October-December quarter this fiscal, mainly due to poor performance by mining, manufacturing and all other sectors, with the exception of agriculture. However, on a sequential basis, the economic growth rate in the third quarter showed improvement over 5.6 per cent recorded in the second quarter.
Development plan for K-G basin runs for 12 years, so can't supply to RNRL for 17 years, says RIL.
GAIL India's ambitious pipeline project - Dahej Uran Pipeline project - has been delayed beyond its set deadline of March 31, 2007
The EGoM has fixed priority for the 25 million standard cubic metes per day of gas Reliance plans to start pumping from September this year and 40 mmscmd from March 2009. It has asked the company to first supply gas from KG-D6 field, the first major field of NELP to go on production, to existing gas-based urea plants, which are now getting fuel below their full requirement.
The government told the Bombay high court on Friday that the empowered group of ministers decided that Mukesh Ambani-led RIL will start supplying gas from the KG basin to Anil Ambani's Dadri power project and other upcoming power plants once it is ready to begin operations.
A division bench of Justices J N Patel and K K Tated said that the new agreement should be as per the memorandum of understanding between the Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil. The MoU stipulates that RIL would supply 28 mmscmd of gas to RNRL for 17 years at the rate of $2.43 per million British Thermal Units.
Though crude oil prices in the market are at a record high and analysts say they could breach the $200-per-barrel mark soon, consumption has grown rapidly in India as prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas are heavily subsidised by the government and its oil production and marketing companies. Higher demand, coupled with higher prices, is also likely to drive up the country's oil import bill to over $100 billion in this financial year.
Following the heated exchanges, the bench rose early for the day, to resume the hearing on Tuesday. The schedule of hearing was changed and according to the current estimate, it will end by mid-December, just before the year-end holidays.
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