Reliance Industries Faces $2.81 Billion Demand in Gas Drilling Dispute
India’s Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) announced on Tuesday that the country’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has raised a demand of $2.81 billion from the company and its partners, BP Exploration and Niko, in an ongoing gas drilling dispute. The case pertains to the extraction of gas in the KG D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin, where a division bench of the Delhi High Court ruled against Reliance and its partners on February 14.
Reliance, in an exchange filing, stated that it has been legally advised that both the court judgment and the government’s demand are unsustainable. The company asserted that it does not expect any liability and is taking steps to challenge the ruling. It had earlier expressed its intention to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
The dispute dates back to 2016 when the Indian government asked Reliance and its partners to deposit $1.55 billion over alleged gas migration from state-run ONGC’s (ONGC.NS) nearby blocks. While an arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of Reliance in 2018 and a single judge of the Delhi High Court upheld the arbitration award in May 2023, the division bench overturned that ruling in February 2025, leading to the latest financial demand from the government.
Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright
