The oil ministry has given Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and partners BP and NIKO thirty days to respond to a $1.55 billion penalty notice that was issued on Friday for selling gas belonging to blocks operated by Oil and Natural Gas Corp, an oil ministry source said. ONGC’s two blocks are adjacent to the Reliance-operated block, in which UK-based BP holds 30% stake and Calgary-based Niko Resources Ltd has 10% share. In its report, the one-member Shah panel said the Mukesh Ambani-run firm should pay for the gas that had migrated or seeped from ONGC blocks into its gas fields. While ONGC’s reservoirs have almost emptied, RIL continues to produce gas from D1&D3 fields in KG-D6 block, some of it belonging to ONGC. The report projected a higher proportion of gas migration and its production through RIL operated KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) block by the end of 2019.

Source: Hindustan Times November 04, 2016 09:04 UTC