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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I enjoy being a finisher for my team: Ashutosh Sharma
Jaipur (PTI): Delhi Capitals batting all-rounder Ashutosh Sharma said he relishes his role as a finisher after his side snapped a three-match losing streak with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here.
Ashutosh struck an unbeaten 25 off 15 balls, hitting four boundaries, as Delhi successfully chased down a daunting 226-run target with five balls to spare on Friday.
"I enjoy being a finisher for my team. The team has trusted me to bat in these situations and I enjoy playing in these moments. I always feel that as long as I am at the crease, I can win the game for my team," Ashutosh said at the post-match press conference.
Chasing a stiff total, Delhi were laid a solid foundation by KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka, who stitched together a 110-run opening partnership.
"In T20 cricket nowadays, a lot depends on the opening partnership and the powerplay. Our openers played really well and because of that we were in the game throughout and could take it till the end," Ashutosh said.
Delhi’s overseas pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Kyle Jamieson had earlier set the tone by removing Rajasthan's explosive openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi inside the first two overs.
"We wanted to get their opening partnership out early, as they have been doing well in previous matches. That was our plan and it worked, which was good for us."
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour admitted that poor execution with the ball cost his side the match.
"The bowlers couldn't execute their plans again today. 226 we felt was enough on this surface, they should have been able to defend that.
"When you are defending that kind of total it is important to have a good powerplay. We gave away lots of runs and didn't take any wicket," he said.
Despite the defeat, Rathour drew positives from the batting effort, particularly the response after the early loss of openers. Skipper Riyan Parag led from the front with a 90 off 50 balls, while Dhruv Jurel contributed 42.
"We were consistently getting good starts. Both our openers were doing well for us in every match. So, this was the first time that both got out early. So as a team, I think it was important how we came out of that situation and how we played.
"The way Riyan and Jurel batted at that time, the partnership they built, and the way Donovan finished it, it was really good to see," Rathour said.
