The Hindu : Business : Ministry to sort out ONGC-DGH spat

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Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
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Ministry to sort out ONGC-DGH spat

Sujay Mehdudia

Seeks clarifications from regulator on rejection of gas finds

NEW DELHI: The Union Petroleum Ministry is understood to have stepped in to sort out the war of words between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) over the issue of new gas discovery off the Andhra Coast.

Highly placed sources in the Petroleum Ministry said the Ministry had written to the Director General of Hydrocarbons, V. K. Sibal seeking a detailed clarification on the issue and also on the points raised by ONGC which had accused the DGH of hurting its interests by publicly rejecting a gas discovery while in similar cases involving private oil companies, the DGH had given approvals based on the same parameters.

It is learnt that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Murli Deora was apprised of the whole issue by the ONGC Chairman, R. S. Sharma, who is understood to have termed as `indifferent' the attitude of the oil regulator. With the ONGC standing its ground on the gas discovery UD-I well off the Andhra coast, the situation has taken an ugly turn. The ONGC Chairman is learnt to have brought to the notice of the Petroleum Ministry the `biased' approach of the DGH and sought an independent inquiry into the whole issue. It was only after this brief that the Ministry sought a clarification from the DGH about the ONGC case and also why similar discoveries by private oil companies had been upheld .

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