The Hindu Business Line : No difference of opinion between power, petroleum ministries: Shinde

New Delhi, Aug. 20 The Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, on Thursday downplayed reports of a difference of opinion with the Petroleum Ministry on NTPC Ltd’s legal dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) over gas supplies.

“I don’t think there is any difference between the Petroleum Ministry and the Power Ministry on the ongoing RIL gas dispute,” Mr Shinde told presspersons here.

Asked if NTPC plans to file a petition in the Supreme Court, the Minister said, “NTPC will take a decision (on the issue)... it is for the (NTPC) Board to decide.”

NTPC is fighting a legal battle with RIL, the operator of Krishna Godavari Basin’s D6 Block, in the Bombay High Court over supply of gas as committed by the latter in 2004.

RIL had, in 2004, bid for an NTPC tender for supply of 12 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of gas to its Kawas and Gandhar expansion projects at $2.34 per mBtu (million British thermal units).

RIL, however, did not sign a final gas sale and purchase agreement with NTPC, and the power major had subsequently approached the Bombay High Court in December 2005 on the issue.

On the validity of the RIL quote, Mr Shinde said the $2.34-per mBtu rates were offered by RIL in a tender called by NTPC in 2004, while the Government approved $4.2 per mBtu price for the company’s gas only in 2007.

The Petroleum Ministry had, on Wednesday, pledged its support to NTPC in claiming damages from RIL for not keeping its commitment and the difference between the Government approved price of $4.2 per mBtu and the one committed in the tender would have to be made good by RIL.

More Stories on : Corporate Disputes | Petroleum | Power | Reliance Industries Ltd | NTPC Ltd

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