Press Trust Of India / New Delhi August 22, 2008, 0:52 IST

The latest NELP-VII auction in Phase 1 received commitments amounting to $1.49 billion for 45 blocks, including $321.15 million for deep sea exploration, $598.255 million for exploration in shallow waters and $572.75 million for onland blocks, according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

There were bids for 45 out of the 57 blocks on offer. The investments committed for Phase II and III have not been divulged.

Bs Reporter / Mumbai August 01, 2008, 0:50 IST

Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries (RIL) will lose around $1 billion (Rs 4,300 crore) a year if it sells gas to the Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) at the agreed price of $2.34 per million British thermal unit (mBtu).

Legal representatives of the warring Ambani brothers have requested the Bombay High Court, which is hearing the case relating to allocation of gas to be produced from the Krishna- Godavari (KG) basin, for successive court hearings so that the dispute could be resolved faster.

Appearing on behalf of elder brother Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries (RIL), Harish Salve requested the division bench of Justice S P Mhase and Justice P B Varale for hearing the case on a day-to-day basis.

Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), fully owned by the Gujarat government, is planning to spend Rs 4,000 crore over the next three to four years to produce oil and gas from the block it discovered in the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast.

The company will raise the money through a combination of loans from banks, a possible public offer and through internal accruals.

New Delhi, July 16: Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) has struck a

B. Muralidhar Reddy COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Government on Monday signed an agreement with Cairn India for exploration of hydro-carbon and natural gas in the Mannar Basin in the north. Sri Lanka Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources A. H. M. Fowzie, and Chief Financial Officer of Carin India, Indrajith Benerijee, signed the agreement on behalf of Sri Lanka and Cairn India (Pvt) Ltd, respectively, in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

LONG before the fuel price increase was announced on June 4, its political dimensions had come up time and again in discussions among partners of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre. The debate was on even during the run-up to the Assembly elections in Karnataka, which were held in May. The discussions highlighted the global increase in the price of crude oil and the demand from oil companies for governmental measures to tide them over.

Sujay Mehdudia NEW DELHI: With the Finance Ministry clearing the air on the tax breaks for oil and gas production related activity, the seventh round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) could well evoke poor response from the international and domestic investors. While refusing to extend any further the last date for submission of bids under NELP VII beyond June 30, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora asked the potential investors to keep in mind while bidding for oil and gas blocks that the promised tax breaks might not come through.

With Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora petitioning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for restoration of tax breaks for producers of oil and gas, the final call on the issue is likely to be taken by the Union Cabinet. A decision is expected before June 30, the last date for submission of bids under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) round VII.

A Malaysian-based company, Petronas Pakistan Limited, has made a second gas discovery in Mubarak Block, located at Ghotki district in Sindh. According to an announcement on Monday, the discovery was made at the Saqib-1A well which was drilled to the planned depth of 3,780 meters. The well was successfully tested and flowed between 13.4 million and 25.2 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and between 47.5 barrels and 63.9 barrels of condensate per day.