Cabinet secy rejects ADAG's claim on CBM blocks

A high-level panel headed by the cabinet secretary has rejected the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's (R-ADAG) contention of 'unfair' evaluation in deciding on bids for coal bed methane (CBM) blocks.

After two rounds of deliberations this week, the panel that included petroleum, finance, law and coal secretaries concluded that the evaluation of bids for 10 coal bed methane blocks (CBM) was done in a fair and transparent way and there was no bias against ADAG, official sources said.

The recommendation for award of four blocks to ADAG's Reliance Natural Resources and three to Australia's Arrow Energy, is likely to come up for approval at the meeting of Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) next week.

Sources said the CCEA had on August 31 asked the four-member Empowered Committee of Secretaries to re-examine the technical evaluation of bids after ADAG staked claim on two of the three blocks awarded to Arrow Energy which it narrowly missed because of discretionary marking by oil regulator DGH.

The cabinet secretary was asked to chair the four-member secretaries panel, they said, adding that the elite panel considered all points raised by Anil Ambani Group but found no substance in the allegations.

The government had in February 2006 invited bids for 10 CBM blocks under third round of bidding. The bids closed on June 30.