Damper for private oil firms as govt decides to retain higher profit share

New condition amounts to the ministry putting a cap on the share of oil and gas firms in profit petroleum

In what is likely to impact investment decisions of oil and gas companies in the exploration and production segment, such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Vedanta Cairn, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is insisting on a new clause in the work programme for 2018-19 that protects its profit share.
 

If the companies invest more, they are allowed a higher cost deduction, as in a laid-down formula. This reduces the government’s share of profit petroleum. The new clause says the government’s share, in such a case, should be retained at the earlier level.

Profit petroleum is the revenue that