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Former bureaucrat E A S Sarma has written to the petroleum ministry cautioning the government against thereported hiring of technical consultant Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA) to assess the issue of gas "theft" raised by state-run explorer ONGC against Reliance Industries (RIL). The move, Sarma believes, is aimed atdeterring ONGC from pursuing its case against RIL and the government alleging Rs 30,000 crore theft of gas from its block in Krishna Godavari Basin adjacent to RIL's KG-D6 block.
"I understand that RIL had earlierengaged GCA as its consultant to assess the natural gas resources of its fields in the KG Basin. Therefore, it is likely that GCA's involvement in the instant matter may raise the issue of conflict ofinterest," Sarma said in his 5 September letter to petroleum secretary Saurabh Chandra. Sarma hadlast week filed an intervention application in the Delhi High Court seeking thecourt's intervention in ONGC's petition accusing RIL of exploiting its gas. Acting on the application, Justice Manmohan had issuednotice to the Centre and RIL and sought their responses on the application of former secretary to the government who has alleged the PSU is being pressuredto withdraw its writ petition. In May this year, ONGC had moved the Delhi High Courtagainst RIL on the issue, and had also made the ministry and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) respondents on grounds that the two had not doneenough to protect the public sector entity's rights.
The oil ministry had last month told the high court allegations levelled against it by ONGC were "frivolous" and the government had taken all necessary steps to resolve the national explorer's complaint. It had also said ONGC "never raised any issue onconnectivity of reservoirs or channels" ever since it was granted mininglease of the Godavari PML Block (G-4) in 2008 and even when RIL started production from KG-D6 in April 2009. "The petitioner (ONGC) woke up fromslumber only in July 2013, when it requested the government to provide the G&G (geological and geophysical) data that too to analyse the continuity ofthe pool," the ministry said. Sarma has written five letters to petroleum secretary since April complaining how the ministry continues to be a mute spectator inthe matter and urging the ministry to act to safeguard ONGC's interest in thecase. The ministry has not responded to the letters, he said.
