In what could be a severe blow to Anil Ambani group seeking cheap gas from elder brother Mukesh- led RIL, the Supreme Court has ruled that govt has the last word on pricing and utilisation of national asset.
Giving its verdict on the four-year-old Ambani battle that was intertwined with a bitter public wrangling, a three-judge [...]
Posts Tagged ‘murli deora’
No cheap gas for Anil Ambani group
May 7th, 2010 |
No Comments
Massive fire at Indian oil depot in Jaipur; 5 killed, 150 injured
October 30th, 2009 |
No Comments
A massive fire broke out at Indian Oil Coporation’s fuel depot in Sitapura industrial area in the outskirts of Jaipur on Thursday evening killing five persons and injuring 150, police said.
State officials said the help of the Army was sought to help douse the fire at the depot which is on the highway near [...]
The Ambani brothers fight over gas: Convoluted and heated
August 27th, 2009 |
No Comments
Hydrocarbons cause a new round in a family feud
THE rancorous feud between India’s Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, has reached a new low. Earlier this month one of Anil’s companies, Reliance Natural Resources, placed advertisements on the front pages of Indian newspapers, accusing the government of siding with his older brother over Mukesh’s attempts to raise the price of gas from a big field. The government’s actions could lead to “super normal profits” for Mukesh’s Reliance Industries, the ads claimed, and a 50% rise in power bills. Reliance Industries bit back, describing Anil’s media campaign as “malicious, mischievous, baseless and ill-informed”. For the government, the timing could hardly have been worse: this month, India kicked off a two-month marketing campaign for its biggest sale yet of exploration rights for oil and gas, scheduled for October. But the Ambanis’ eyes are firmly fixed on September 1st, when the Supreme Court takes up their dispute.
The row centres on the pricing of natural gas from one of India’s biggest fields, in the Krishna Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal. In 2005 the brothers agreed that Reliance Industries, which controls the field, would sell gas from its D-6 lease (short for Dhirubhai-6, after the Ambanis’ late father) to Reliance Natural Resources for 17 years at $2.34 per million British thermal units. In 2007 the government stepped in, invoking its right under the lease to vet sales contracts, raising the price to $4.20. In June Bombay’s High Court upheld the terms of the original agreement. Reliance Industries, which promptly appealed against the judgment in the Supreme Court, argues that it cannot produce the gas at the lower price because of increased costs. The oil minister, Murli Deora, meanwhile, has said that the gas belongs to neither brother but to India. …
Deora explains stand on gas pricing row to Manmohan
August 12th, 2009 |
No Comments
New Delhi: Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and explained his stand on the gas pricing row on Wednesday.
The meeting was quite important as Ambani brothers are in tussle on the deal. Sources say that Deora is believed to have explained the Oil Ministry’s position on gas pricing and utilisation.
Last week, [...]
Family battle
July 30th, 2009 |
No Comments
By Shantanu Guha Ray, Delhi
The world’s richest brothers are locking horns yet again – and this time, it is over natural gas.
The latest spat between Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, who control India’s Reliance group of industries, could turn out to be the most unsavoury yet and hinder efforts to solve the country’s chronic energy shortage.
This week, Anil Ambani, the 50-year-old younger brother, described the government as "partisan and biased" towards his elder brother, Mukesh.
At the heart of the latest battle between the siblings is the natural gas that was discovered by Reliance Industries in the Krishna Godavari basin off India’s eastern coast in 2002, three years before the brothers parte ways.
The Reliance empire was divided between the two brothers in 2005 after a bitter seven-month feud.
In a family pact vetted and supervised by the brothers’ mother in 2005, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) was to supply 28 million cubic meters of gas a day at $2.34 per million units to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL) for 17 years.
Pricing feud
This price was lower than $4.20 per million units set by the government in 2006 for all buyers of gas from the basin.
Anil Ambani has not accepted the higher selling price set by the government, citing the agreement with his elder brother.
On 15 June, his company won a case in the Bombay High Court, asking his elder brother’s company to honour the family agreement.
Mukesh Ambani has appealed against the judgement in the Supreme Court – the court will hear the dispute on 1 September.
India’s oil ministry has also become embroiled in the controversy – federal oil minister Murli Deora has been criticised by Anil Ambani for allegedly siding with his elder brother.
In return, Mr Deora has said gas is a national property and belongs to the people of India – "It really doesn’t belong to them [Mukesh and Anil Ambani]," he told reporters.
The dispute is impeding efforts by the government to harness India’s natural gas reserves to help tide over its energy crunch.
Three companies – RIL, the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) – are investing $30bn to produce gas from the Krishna Godavari basin.
All the three companies have discovered gas – and some oil- in three different blocks.
RIL plans to spend $12 billion on producing and transporting the gas across the country while the state-owned ONGC has announced a $3 billion investment.
The Krishna Godavari basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast is described as the North Sea of India due to its immense gas prospects.
The basin is likely to produce 120 million cubic metres per day (mcmd) of gas, four times the gas and 30% cheaper than the gas India would have received through the much-delayed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.
Once the entire gas comes on stream, it will have a huge impact on the country’s fertiliser and power companies.
Energy needs
India, Asia’s third largest oil importer, could easily save at least $20 billion off its surging oil import bill that crossed a whopping $80 billion last year.
Power and fertiliser plant owners, which consume 70% of the available gas in India, are optimistic that the Krishna Godavari basin gas will help them operate at full capacity.
Currently, they mostly operate at 50-60% of their capacity because of inadequate gas.
The fertiliser industry, which has not seen any new investments in the last decade, could increase capacity to 22 million tonnes in two years from the current 20 million tonnes once more gas becomes available. Presently, the industry needs 41 mcmd of gas, but gets only 28 mcmd.
Once the gas from Krishna Godavari basin begins to flow – possibly after 2013 – it can add at least 10,000MW to India’s power output. The figure is more than half the country’s current peak power deficit.
The World Bank estimates that power shortages deter the development process in India where more than 400 million people lack electricity and supplies fall short of peak demand by 16.6%.
The writer is business editor of Tehelka magazine
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
SP demands Deora’s resignation over Ambani gas dispute
July 29th, 2009 |
No Comments
The dispute over gas distribution between the Ambani brothers echoed in Parliament with Samajwadi Party (SP) members led by party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, demanding Petroleum Minister Murli Deora’s resignation over the Centre’s failure to ensure gas supply to the Dadri Power project in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
Though neither Yadav nor the SP members named [...]
Pranab calls meeting with Deora, Moily on Ambanis’ gas tangle
July 29th, 2009 |
No Comments
New Delhi, July 28 (PTI) Amid a bitter public wrangling between the Oil Ministry and industrialist Anil Ambani on the gas dispute, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today held a meeting with petroleum and law ministers.
Neither Petroleum Minister Murli Deora nor Law Minister Veerappa Moily were willing to comment on the course of the 70-minute long [...]
Pranab calls meeting with Deora, Moily on Ambanis’ gas tangle
July 29th, 2009 |
No Comments
New Delhi, July 28 (PTI) Amid a bitter public wrangling between the Oil Ministry and industrialist Anil Ambani on the gas dispute, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today held a meeting with petroleum and law ministers.
Neither Petroleum Minister Murli Deora nor Law Minister Veerappa Moily were willing to comment on the course of the 70-minute long [...]
Centre closely monitoring international oil pricing : Deora
July 23rd, 2009 |
No Comments
Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Thursday said that the Union Government is closely monitoring the oil price in the international market.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Deora stated, the government would take appropriate decisions with regard to the pricing of petroleum products to protect the interests of common citizens especially the weaker [...]
India will not pull out of Iran gas pipeline project: Deora
July 20th, 2009 |
No Comments
The Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has made clear that India will not bow to any external pressure on the participation in Iran – Pakistan – India gas pipe line.
Replaying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Deora said there are some outstanding issues including finalization of the gas price with Iran.
Deora [...]
Centre files affidavit in Reliance Gas distribution case
July 17th, 2009 |
No Comments
The Union Government filed an affidavit in connection with the Reliance Gas distribution case on Friday.
The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) led by Mukesh Ambani and the Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL) of Anil Ambani are at loggerheads over the ownership of gas field in the Krishna –Godavari Basin in Andhra Pradesh.
Earlier on July 12, Union [...]