Will move court against Reliance arbitration award: Pradhan
New Delhi, Aug 3 : India will appeal against a ruling by an international tribunal in favour of Reliance Industries (RIL) in a dispute over gas migration from fields operated by state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.
Last week, a three-member international arbitration tribunal rejected the government's $1.55 billion claim against RIL and held that the company could contractually produce and sell any gas that might have migrated from adjoining fields of ONGC into its area and Reliance was not obligated to seek prior government permission for doing so.
"The government will certainly file an appeal against the arbitration award in the higher forum. It will be in the high court," Pradhan told reporters here on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII.
By a majority vote last week, the arbitration panel held that the production sharing contract for the eastern offshore KG-D6 fields "does not prohibit but permits" RIL "to produce and sell gas which migrated into the sub-sea reservoir lying within (its) Contract Area from a source outside the Contract Area".
He said the government had made a claim on Reliance and its partners based on the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee that quantified the natural gas that had migrated to KG-D6 from neighbouring blocks of ONGC.
The tribunal also awarded $8.3 million as compensation to the three partners in the operator consortium of the KG-D6 block, where RIL has 60 per cent interest, British major BP holds 30 per cent and Niko Resources of Canada the remaining 10 per cent.
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BJP backs Amit Thackeray for Mahim, over Shinde Sena's candidate Sarvankar
Mumbai: The BJP has decided to support Amit Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, for the Mahim constituency, despite its alliance with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, which has fielded sitting MLA Sada Sarvankar. The decision has led to a three-way contest between Amit Thackeray, Sarvankar, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Mahesh Sawant in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election on November 20.
The BJP reportedly expected Shinde’s Shiv Sena to withdraw Sarvankar in favour of Amit Thackeray, but Shiv Sena leaders argue this would risk losing votes to the Uddhav faction. Sarvankar, a three-time MLA and long-time Shiv Sena loyalist, appealed to Raj Thackeray to reconsider his son’s candidature, citing his commitment to the party under Bal Thackeray's leadership.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed BJP's support for Amit Thackeray, while indicating ongoing discussions with Shinde Sena leaders. Amid the standoff, Raj Thackeray maintained confidence that the next government will be led by the BJP, with support from MNS, though MNS is not formally part of the Mahayuti alliance.
