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India.com
21-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance challenges court's decision in favour of Modi govt, approaches SC for…
(File) Reliance Industries has approached the SC against Delhi High court's ruling which was in favour of the Indian government. There were allegations against Mukesh Ambani's company of illegally extracting natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin wells. The main questions was whether gas from ONGC's fields moved to RIL's KG-D6 block and if ONGC's gas reserves depleted due to RIL's operations or not. The Delhi HC earlier gave a decision against Reliance and supported the government's claims. The dispute started in 2013 when ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) accused Reliance of unfairly working in gas reserves from its blocks. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas alleged that Reliance extracted gas from ONGC's wells. The government demanded compensation of $1.6 billion and $175 million as additional 'profit petroleum' owned by Reliance. In February 2023, the Delhi HC overturned the arbitration decision and favored the government. The High Court stated that Reliance got unfair advantage by extracting gas from ONGC's blocks. A bench of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Saurabh Banerjee voided both the tribunal's decision and order a prior to 2021. On May 14, 2024, Reliance filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's decision. Foreign partners in the KG-D6 consortium like BP Exploration (Alpha) and Canada's Niko Resources Ltd, also submitted separate appeals.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RIL moves SC against Delhi HC order in $1.7 billion gas dispute with govt
NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its foreign partners have moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court 's February ruling quashing an arbitral award in their favour in the dispute with the Centre's $1.7 billion claim over alleged siphoning of gas from a Krishan=Godavari field off the Andhra coast. RIL filed the lead petition on May 14, while its partners BP Exploration (Alpha), a subsidiary of UK's BP Plc, and Canadian firm Niko Ltd filed similar petitions separately. The high court had on February 14 ruled against RIL and its partners and upheld the government's claim on the ground of making 'unjust enrichment' by extracting gas that migrated from state-run ONGC's block adjacent to the consortium's KG-D6 field. The case dates back to 2013 when ONGC claimed its IG and KG-DWN-98/2 blocks adjacent to RIL's KG-D6 field shared a common gas pool. It moved the high court, saying RIL, which had already put KG-D6 into operation, was extracting gas that migrated from its blocks that were still under development. The oil ministry approached the high court after an arbitration panel led by Singapore-based Lawrence Woo struck down its demand for nearly $1.6 billion in cost, including interest, and $175 million as additional cumulative 'profit petroleum' payable till March 31, 2016 towards "disgorgement of unjust enrichment" made by RIL. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch Bitcoin và Ethereum - Không cần ví! IC Markets BẮT ĐẦU NGAY Undo In the February 14 order, the division bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee had quashed an international arbitration tribunal's ruling rejecting the government's claim and overturned an earlier order by justice Anup Jairam Bhambani verdict upholding the arbitral award in favour of the RIL-led consortium. "We are setting aside the impugned order dated May 9, 2023 passed by the learned single judge, and the arbitral award passed by the learned arbitral tribunal dated 2018, being contrary to the settled position of law along the pending applications, if any, leaving the parties to bear their own costs," the division bench of Justices Palli and Banerjee had said. In his order, Justice Bhambani had held that,"This court is not persuaded to hold that the conclusions drawn by the arbitral tribunal are such that no reasonable person would reach. Suffice it to say that the view taken by the arbitral tribunal is most certainly a 'possible view', which calls for no interference... ... this court finds no ground to interfere with the majority arbitral award; which is accordingly upheld". Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Mint
20-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Reliance-led consortium moves Supreme Court over $1.7 billion KG Basin arbitration setback
New Delhi: A consortium led by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi high court order that overturned a $1.7 billion arbitral award in its favour in the long-running Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin gas migration dispute with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC). The consortium, which includes British Petroleum Exploration (Alpha) Ltd and Niko (NECO), filed petitions on 14 May. Both BP and Niko have also filed separate appeals contesting the Delhi high court's ruling. 'Yes, we filed the plea against the high court ruling last week. It remains to be seen when the matter will be listed for hearing,' a person familiar with the matter told Mint, requesting anonymity. An email sent to Reliance on Tuesday afternoon remained unanswered. The Delhi high court's order, issued on 14 February by Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee, set aside a May 2023 single-judge order that had upheld the arbitral award. The division bench declared the award unenforceable, citing multiple legal infirmities. Specifically, the court pointed to four reasons: RIL's failure to disclose a crucial 2003 report (constituting patent illegality); the arbitration not qualifying as international; violation of the public trust doctrine in the context of natural resources; and unjust enrichment, as the consortium profited from gas belonging to ONGC or the government. The verdict was seen as a major win for the central government in one of India's most high-profile energy sector disputes. It also cleared the path for the Centre to recover over ₹ 12,800 crore (approximately $1.7 billion) from the consortium. In a stock exchange filing in March, RIL disclosed that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had raised a separate demand of $2.81 billion from RIL, BP, and Niko, based on the gas migration findings. The case dates back to April 2000, when RIL and its partners signed a production-sharing contract (PSC) with the government for the KG-D6 block, off the Andhra Pradesh coast. RIL holds a 60% stake in the block, BP owns 30%, and Niko the remaining 10%. In 2013, ONGC raised concerns that gas reservoirs in its blocks might be connected to those in the KG-D6 field. A joint study commissioned by both parties, and conducted by US-based consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton, confirmed in 2015 that significant quantities of gas had migrated from ONGC's blocks into RIL's. The report estimated the migrated gas to be worth over ₹ 11,000 crore. In response, a panel led by former Delhi high court chief justice A.P. Shah recommended compensation for what it termed 'unjust enrichment.' The government subsequently sought $1.5 billion in compensation, plus $174 million in interest. The consortium contested the claim and initiated arbitration in 2016. In 2018, a three-member tribunal chaired by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence Boo ruled 2:1 in favour of RIL and its partners, concluding that the PSC permitted the extraction of naturally migrated gas as long as it occurred within the contract area. The tribunal also directed the government to pay $8.3 million in arbitration costs. The government then challenged the award in the Delhi high court, alleging that RIL had extracted gas without proper authorization and had withheld critical information about reservoir connectivity since 2003.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RIL moves Supreme Court against Delhi HC ruling in $1.73 billion gas dispute with ONGC
Reliance Industries Ltd ( RIL ) on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging a recent decision by the division bench of the Delhi High Court that overturned a 2018 international arbitral award in its favour. The dispute centers around a $1.729 billion claim over gas migration from ONGC-operated blocks into RIL's Krishna Godavari D6 (KG-D6) block in the Bay of Bengal. The division bench, comprising Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee, in February this year set aside the earlier ruling of a single judge who had upheld the arbitral tribunal's award. That May 2023 decision had rejected the central government's allegations of 'insidious fraud' and ' unjust enrichment ' by RIL and its foreign partners—UK's BP Plc and Canada's Niko Resources. RIL, in its appeal to the apex court, has contended that the division bench had no jurisdiction to re-examine the merits of the case since the matter had been adjudicated through international arbitration. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate argues that the 2018 tribunal ruling—delivered by a three-member panel led by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence Boo—was binding under the terms of the production sharing contract (PSC). The tribunal, in a 2-1 majority decision, ruled that the PSC did not restrict contractors from producing gas that had migrated into their licensed areas, effectively dismissing the government's $1.729 billion claim. The roots of the dispute trace back to 2013 when ONGC alerted the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) about suspected reservoir connectivity between its Godavari PML and KG-DWN-98/2 blocks and RIL's KG-D6 block. In response, the Delhi HC ordered an independent technical review in 2014, appointing US-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M). D&M's 2015 report confirmed reservoir connectivity and concluded that RIL's production activities could deplete ONGC 's reserves. This led the government to formally raise a demand of $1.55 billion in 2016, along with an additional $175 million in profit petroleum, citing unjust enrichment . RIL refuted the claims and invoked international arbitration under the PSC framework. The legal battle has now reached India's highest court, with RIL seeking to reinstate the arbitration award and challenge the HC's interference in a matter it believes was conclusively settled by the arbitral tribunal. The Supreme Court is yet to list the matter for hearing.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RIL moves Supreme Court against Delhi HC ruling in $1.73 billion gas dispute with ONGC
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging a recent decision by the division bench of the Delhi High Court that overturned a 2018 international arbitral award in its favour. The dispute centers around a $1.729 billion claim over gas migration from ONGC-operated blocks into RIL 's Krishna Godavari D6 (KG-D6) block in the Bay of Bengal. The division bench, comprising Justices Rekha Palli and Saurabh Banerjee, in February this year set aside the earlier ruling of a single judge who had upheld the arbitral tribunal's award. That May 2023 decision had rejected the central government's allegations of 'insidious fraud' and 'unjust enrichment' by RIL and its foreign partners—UK's BP Plc and Canada's Niko Resources. RIL, in its appeal to the apex court, has contended that the division bench had no jurisdiction to re-examine the merits of the case since the matter had been adjudicated through international arbitration. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate argues that the 2018 tribunal ruling—delivered by a three-member panel led by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence Boo—was binding under the terms of the production sharing contract (PSC). The tribunal, in a 2-1 majority decision, ruled that the PSC did not restrict contractors from producing gas that had migrated into their licensed areas, effectively dismissing the government's $1.729 billion claim. The roots of the dispute trace back to 2013 when ONGC alerted the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) about suspected reservoir connectivity between its Godavari PML and KG-DWN-98/2 blocks and RIL's KG-D6 block. In response, the Delhi HC ordered an independent technical review in 2014, appointing US-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M). D&M's 2015 report confirmed reservoir connectivity and concluded that RIL's production activities could deplete ONGC's reserves. This led the government to formally raise a demand of $1.55 billion in 2016, along with an additional $175 million in profit petroleum, citing unjust enrichment . RIL refuted the claims and invoked international arbitration under the PSC framework. The legal battle has now reached India's highest court, with RIL seeking to reinstate the arbitration award and challenge the HC's interference in a matter it believes was conclusively settled by the arbitral tribunal. The Supreme Court is yet to list the matter for hearing.
