Kakinada: Gujarat-owned GSPC demanded gas at a rate equivalent to the price at which the country imports liquefied natural gas from Qatar.
The UPA had decided to revise gas prices based on the recommendation of the economic advisory council by doubling the price to $8.4 per unit.
The NDA has put this on hold for three months till October, seeking a comprehensive review as gas prices have a direct bearing on the costs of power, fertilizers, CNG and cooking gas.
According to RIL it has invested $12.6 billion in exploration, production and development and remained the largest investor in NELP (national exploring licensing policy).
The company retained only seven out of 45 blocks including the KG D-6 awarded to it.
RIL, in its recent statement regarding KG-D6 claimed, “Many blocks with discoveries had to be relinquished as they were unviable to develop and produce at the current price of $ 4.205 per MMBtu. D1-D3 fields are the first and only deep water producing fields in India and remain amongst the most complex reservoirs in the world."
"Other discoveries in the same block such as the R Series, Satellites & MJ1 are pending development. D1-D3 production will vary but is not expected to increase substantially. Any increase in production will not come from D1-D3 but through development of the new discoveries in KG-D6 block. The earliest this could happen is 2017-18.”
RIL has been claiming that its share from KG D6 is only 15 per cent of total production and Public Sector Units has 75 per cent and will benefit the most from the hike in price and the government will also earn royalty, profit petroleum, taxes and dividend.
A source in ONGC said, “ONGC was supposed to start production in KG basin by 2014-15 but it is likely to be delayed to 2016-17. There are certain issues like need of huge investments and technical manpower. After finding the gas, how to bring it to shore is very important. Depth of sea and seasonally rough sea are other issues. There is a big question of viability. ONGC has been asking the government for $11 per unit. ONGC is expecting the new government to take a decision soon on the matter by balancing the interests of producers and consumers."
