ONGC board vertically split over compensation

The board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is split on the issue of claiming compensation for ~11,000 crore worth of natural gas spewing from its K-G basin block into adjoining fields of Reliance Industries.

The Justice A P Shah Committee, on the issue of gas migrating from idling ONGC blocks to RIL’s producing gas fields, last month opined the compensation for “unjust enrichment” by the Mukesh Ambani-run firm should go to the government and not the state-owned firm.

It was of the opinion that the gas belongs to the government and so it alone deserves to be compensated.

While ONGC had in May 2014 not hesitated from filing a case against RIL in the Delhi High Court and making the government a party to it, it is now vertically split on the issue.

Sources said the section of the board, which was responsible for the company in the first place taking up the issue of RIL producing ONGC’s gas, wants the company to strongly contest the Shah committee recommendation.

It feels that the Delhi High Court had given the company an option of approaching the court again if it is unsatisfied with any part of the dispute resolution. And so the company should approach the high court again, they feel.