In a setback for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd and its associate BP Plc, the Delhi Excessive Court docket has overturned a global arbitration tribunal’s ruling that held the duo not chargeable for paying any compensation for the gasoline they produced and bought, which had allegedly migrated from adjoining fields.
Right here is an explainer on your entire dispute:
FIELDS IN QUESTION:
Block or space KG-DWN-98/3, referred to as KG-D6, was awarded to a consortium of Reliance Industries Ltd and Niko Sources of Canada within the first bid spherical below New Exploration Licensing Coverage (NELP) in 2000 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee authorities. (BP purchased a 30 per cent stake within the block greater than a decade later).
In the identical spherical, block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5) was awarded to Cairn Power India Ltd, which was subsequently acquired by state-owned Oil and Pure Fuel Company (ONGC) in two phases. An adjoining Godavari block was awarded to ONGC on nomination foundation in 1997.
Reliance began output from KG-D6 in 2009 whereas ONGC began output in January 2024.
DISPUTE
The dispute started in July 2013 when, suspecting reservoir connectivity of its KG-D5 and G-4 blocks with that of Reliance’s KG-D6, ONGC on July 22, 2023 wrote to the DGH stating an in depth geological & geophysical (G&G) interpretation of the accessible knowledge on the Godavari and KG-DWN-98/2 blocks exhibits “proof of lateral continuity of gasoline swimming pools” into KG-D6.
Merely put, it meant that subsurface gasoline swimming pools of the Reliance block and the ONGC blocks gave the impression to be linked with potential migration of gasoline between the 2.
And since Reliance began producing first, it may need drained out ONGC’s assets as nicely.
ONGC requested the Directorate Common of Hydrocarbons (DGH), an upstream regulatory arm of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Pure Fuel, to offer it with G&G knowledge, together with the manufacturing and nicely knowledge of the contiguous space of block KG-DWN-98/3.
MEDIA LEAK
The problem bought leaked to the media and a small information merchandise appeared in one of many dalies. As was the follow of any materials occasion, this was offered to the board of ONGC in April 2014. The board requested the administration to assessment the matter and report again.
ELECTION DAY PETITION
As directed by the board, the corporate administration reverted with an in depth report. The board requested the administration to take authorized steps to guard its curiosity. The choices earlier than ONGC was to both file an FIR for “theft” of its gasoline by Reliance or file a civil swimsuit claiming damages. Whereas a prison case (FIR) was dominated out, the board felt a civil case might drag on for many years.
A method out was to file a writ petition, that are promptly taken observe of by the excessive courts. However a writ might be filed solely in opposition to the state. Since DGH as a custodian of assets and imagined to have recognized of the connectivity challenge when it authorized detailed growth plans of Reliance, ONGC determined to file the writ in opposition to the DGH and the ministry. Reliance was the third respondent.
The petition was filed earlier than the Delhi Excessive Court docket a day earlier than counting of the overall elections on Might 15, 2014.
On September 10, 2014, the Delhi Excessive Court docket disposed of ONGC’s petition and directed the federal government to take a choice, after it acquired a report from an impartial panel arrange by ONGC and RIL.
EYEBROWS RAISED
ONGC’s petition did increase a number of eyebrows then. The petroleum ministry ordered an enquiry into whether or not ONGC had consulted the ministry earlier than submitting the writ petition in opposition to its largest stakeholder the Union of India and upstream regulator DGH.
The ministry’s probe confirmed that then joint secretary (exploration) Armane Giridhar “was conscious in regards to the choice to file the writ, although he could not have been absolutely privy to its fallout viz the federal government being made the primary respondent”.
Armane, who was additionally a member of ONGC board, which took the choice on April 24, 2014, had recommended that “solely referring the matter to the Authorities of India is probably not of a lot use as GoI can be seen as an celebration and a battle of curiosity might come up”.
THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT
DeGolyer and Mac Naughton (D&M) was appointed to hold out a third-party research. In its closing report dated November 19, 2015, D&M concluded inter-alia that “the built-in analyses indicated connectivity and continuity of the reservoirs throughout the blocks operated by ONGC and Reliance”.
The report quantified the amount of gasoline migrated from Godavari PML and KG-DWN-98/2 to KG-DWN-98/3 block and respective manufacturing of gasoline from migrated volumes until March 31, 2015.
From April 1, 2009 until March 31, 2015, 7.009 billion cubic meters and 4.116 bcm of gasoline had migrated from Godavari PML and D1 discovery of KG-DWN-98/2 block, respectively, to KG-DWN-98/3 block. Of those migrated gasoline volumes, 5.968 and three.015 BCM of gasoline was produced by Reliance.
D&M even gave a worth of ONGC’s gasoline produced by Reliance — round Rs 10,000 crore.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE
After submission of D&M report, the federal government constituted a single-member committee on December 15, 2015, comprising former Chief Justice of Delhi Excessive Court docket Ajit Prakash Shah “to quantify the unfair enrichment” by Reliance.
In its submission to the panel, ONGC mentioned Reliance and DGH had recognized in regards to the fields being linked greater than a decade in the past. It submitted one other appraisal report ready by D&M in 2003 that was included in Niko’s annual disclosure to the Canadian Inventory Change, which mentioned, “A portion of the sector accumulation straddles the western boundary of the block (ONGC)”.
It mentioned Reliance and Niko had prior information that their growth plan for exploration in KG Basin will deplete gasoline reserves in ONGC’s block.
Reliance, nonetheless, rejected this and advised the Shah committee that the report mirrored a “simplistic consideration of seismic knowledge and really restricted nicely knowledge confined to find wells in Block KG-DWN-98/3 (Block KG-D6), with no modelling however reasonably with a reliance on D&M’s basic expertise in geology”.
“Up till this time limit, ONGC had but to drill wells and uncover any hydrocarbon on this space,” Reliance advised the committee.
“As RIL has defined to the committee, seismic knowledge could counsel continuity of channels throughout block boundaries, however is fully inadequate in conclusively establishing presence of reservoir and reservoir connectivity.” The committee in its August 28, 2016 report held that gasoline did circulate from ONGC blocks to Reliance space however didn’t discover any criminality on a part of the Mukesh Ambani agency.
On the query of unjust enrichment, the committee concluded that the Authorities of India, and never ONGC, is entitled to assert restitution from Reliance for the unjust profit it acquired and unfairly retained.
ONGC has no locus standing to convey a tortious declare in opposition to Reliance for trespass/conversion because it doesn’t have any possession rights or possessory curiosity within the pure gasoline. All mineral assets are property of the federal government of India.
It relied on a report produced by petroleum trade guide D&M which had concluded that gasoline had migrated from ONGC-controlled elements of the seafloor and the geological formations beneath it into areas managed by the non-public corporations. However Reliance had at the moment said that the strategies had been flawed.
PENALTY ON RELIANCE
Utilizing Shah report, the federal government requested ONGC to step apart and took over the matter.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Pure Fuel (MoPNG) in a November 4, 2026 order sought disgorgement from Reliance and its companions, demanding USD 1.47 billion from the companions for producing in seven years ending March 31, 2016 about 338.332 million British thermal items of gasoline that had seeped or migrated from ONGC’s blocks into their adjoining KG-D6 within the Bay of Bengal.
After deducting USD 71.71 million royalty paid on the gasoline produced and including an curiosity on the charge of LIBOR plus 2 per cent, totalling USD 149.86 million, a complete demand of USD 1.55 billion was made on Reliance, BP, and Niko.
The federal government additionally pressed Reliance to pay USD 174.9 million of extra revenue petroleum after sure prices had been disallowed due to KG-D6 output being decrease than the goal.
On the time, Reliance disputed the federal government’s demand as being based mostly on a “misreading and misinterpretation of key parts of the PSC”, and it mentioned such a requirement was with out precedent within the oil and gasoline trade.
ARBITRATION
As a result of it was the federal government which had slapped the discover, Reliance discovered it handy to take to arbitration. (Arbitration is a dispute decision mechanism below a signed contract. Reliance and companions have a signed manufacturing sharing contract for KG-D6 with the federal government the place arbitration is prescribed as a mechanism for dispute decision. If the dispute would have continued with ONGC, the matter would have been settled in courts as the 2 dont have a signed contract and no dispute decision mechanism. Additionally, Delhi Excessive Court docket whereas disposing of ONGC petition had given the state-owned agency liberty to method it once more after the knowledgeable committee report comes).
Reliance and its companions on November 11, 2016, slapped an arbitration discover.
ARBITRATION AWARD
In July 2018, the worldwide arbitration tribunal rejected the Indian authorities’s declare of USD 1.55 billion in opposition to Reliance Industries and its companions. The three-member panel by a majority of 2-1 additionally awarded USD 8.3 million compensation to the three companions.
The panel was headed by Singapore-based arbitrator Lawrence Boo, a professor at universities in China, Australia, and Singapore, and head of the Singapore-based Arbitration Chambers. Its two different members had been authorities’s arbitrator and former Supreme Court docket Decide GS Singhvi and Reliance-appointed arbitrator,
