In the thick of the Ambani brothers' dispute, lawmakers on Thursday demanded that Mukesh Ambani-led RIL's gas fields be nationalised but the government turned it down.
Cutting across party lines, MPs in Rajya Sabha expressed deep concern over the dispute and said the private contractor should not be allowed to enter into a memorandum of understanding for distribution of gas from a national asset.
The 'old days of nationalisation are gone,' petroleum minister Murli Deora said, responding to the debate on a calling-attention motion moved by CPI-M's Tapan Kumar Sen, adding that the government had nothing to do with the private dispute between the Ambani brothers -- Mukesh and Anil.
"Will government consider and take urgent step to take over the distribution and marketing of the gas at well-head so that it can be utilised for national priorities?" Sen asked.
Among those who demanded the government's intervention to save national assets from being appropriated through a family settlement were Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, JD-U's N K Singh, Shiv Sena's Bharatkumar Raut and CPI's D Raja, besides Congress Alka Balram Kshatriya.
Deora asserted that the government-fixed price of $4.2 per mmBtu for gas from RIL's KG-D6 fields was lower than rates charged by others like UK's BG Group and Cairn India.
The comments came in the midst of wrangling both inside and outside court between Ambanis over supply of gas from RIL to Anil Ambani group's RNRL at $2.34 per mmBtu.
Sharing the concerns of the members, Deora said a study has been commissioned to consider the feasibility of having a uniform price of gas by pooling all the present gas prices.
He appealed to members to rise above narrow interests for devising better usage of the fuel. "If we keep on blaming others and say 'this' belongs to him. . . this fellow is in his pocket, this fellow is in another's pocket, I don't think we will do any service to anybody.
"We should be proud that such vast reservoir of oil and gas (in KG-D6) are available in our country," he said, assuring Andhra Pradesh -- the landfall point of the gas from deepsea Bay of Bengal - that its demand for gas for industries there would be met.
"We will do full justice to the people of Andhra Pradesh," Deora said.
Members from Andhra Pradesh who sought gas for the state included Janardhan Reddy (Congress), P Madhu (CPI-M), Gireesh Kumar Singhvi and M Venkiah Naidu (BJP).
"We have nothing to do with the private dispute of two industries or industrialists. However, we have everything to do with protecting the interests of the government and public interest, this is our constitutional and legal obligation," Deora said.
He said the June 15 order of the Bombay high court that directed RIL to supply one-third of KG-D6's peak output to RNRL at $2.34 per mmBtu as per the family MoU had bearing on government's gas utilisation policy.
"The final order of the Bombay high court has implications on government's rights to formulate and implement the gas utilisation policy under the Production Sharing Contract," Deora said, explaining why the government had to move Supreme Court against the high court order.
"Notwithstanding government policies and provisions of the PSC, the order observes that the provision of (Ambani) memorandum of understanding are binding on the parties," he said.
The Ambani MoU, he said, provides for 12 mmscmd for NTPC, 28 mmscmd to RNRL and the remaining gas from KG-D6 and also other fields to be split between RIL-RNRL in 60:40 ratio.
"Under the circumstances, it was necessary to file an SLP in the Supreme Court and accordingly action has been taken," he said, refusing to give details as the matter was subjudice.
Citing the PSC, he said gas to be produced from KG-D6 fields is to be utilised in accordance with the Gas Utilisation Policy to be approved by the government.
"The intention of the government being to operationalise all gas based assets which were lying idle/unutilised due to non-availability of gas," he said.
The eGoM-approved price formula provides for a maximum gas price of $4.2 per mmBtu at $60 a barrel crude rate.
If crude falls to $25, RIL gas will cost $2.5 per mmBtu.
"I am confident that natural gas would fuel economic growth of the country and the government will do all in its power to ensure its use for natural priorities at reasonable price," he said.
