Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Mar. 7 said that his ministry will pursue its demand for $2.81 billion from Reliance Industries Ltd. and its partners till the end, as the court decision on the gas migration row clearly establishes the government’s rights. RIL had earlier received a Rs 245.22 billion ($2.81 billion) demand from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Citing cases in the past that the ministry has won, Puri said that this is an absolutely clear court verdict. “We have already filed for $2.8 billion, and we will enforce it right till the end,” he said.
The demand was after the Delhi High Court reversed the judgement that dismissed the appeal challenging an arbitral award to the company. This figure represents a significant increase from the previous $1.55 billion demand, showing additional calculations related to the gas migration issue. If the company is liable to pay this amount, it would represent approximately 31% of the company’s profitability over the past 12 months.