INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - FEBRUARY 16th - FEBRUARY 29th - 2008
RIL-RNRL GAS ROW CASE ADJOURNED TO APRIL 11
The Bombay High Court has adjourned the hearing on the gas dispute between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) to April 11 at the request of the latter.
RNRL sought adjournment of the matter as its senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi is injured following an accident. The court was supposed to hold day-today hearings on the vexed issue from February 25.
The delay in the hearings is likely to frustrate RIL which wants a quick end to the dispute. Production from its giant KG basin gas field is slated to begin in July-August 2008 and the company needs to tie-up consumers quickly. It has been prevented from doing so by the Bombay High Court which last year stayed the signing of commercial contracts.
RIL is all set to start pumping 40 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of gas in the next four months and scale it up to 80 mmscmd by 2009, but it cannot enter into any commercial contract with any third party to sell the gas. Even court’s October 14 order to settle the matter amicably by sitting across the table did not evoke any positive response as none of the parties were willing to compromise on the terms of the gas supply master agreement.
An RIL official declined to offer any comments.
Sources confirmed that RIL is in talks with power and fertiliser firms in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, enroute RIL’s East-West pipeline. But no contracts can be signed until the stay is lifted.
Meanwhile, the gas supply dispute is likely to become even more complicated as the government is likely to throw its hat in the ring. It has already started seeking legal opinions over its rights on the gas. Also, the AP government is seeking a lion’s share in the KG basin gas at subsidised prices as the gas was discovered in the state territory.
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