Due to a long-standing disagreement over gas migration from ONGC's blocks to the KG-D6 block, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has demanded $2.81 billion from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its consortium partners, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited and NIKO (NECO) Limited, RIL said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.
"The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has raised a demand of $2.81 billion on the PSC Contractors namely Reliance Industries Limited, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited and NIKO (NECO) Limited," according to the filing.
The claim is related to a case from 2018, when the government of India (GOI) accused the KG-D6 Consortium, which includes RIL, of being responsible for gas migration from ONGC's adjacent blocks. Initially, the ministry requested around $1.55 billion in compensation for the alleged migration. Multiple legal proceedings added to the complexity of the case, which eventually reached the Delhi High Court.
In May 2023, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the Centre's challenge to an arbitral award in favor of Reliance Industries. However, after the government filed an appeal with a division bench, the court reversed its previous decision on March 3, 2025. Following this ruling, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas increased its demand to USD 2.81 billion, citing recent legal developments and a reassessment of the gas migration issue.
"The company has been legally advised that the Division Bench judgment and this provisional demand are unsustainable. The company intends to challenge the Division Bench decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court. The company does not anticipate any liability on this account," RIL stated in its exchange filing.”
