Oil ministry seeks legal opinion on BP’s arbitration notice
Notice sent for shortfall in KG-D6 gas production
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-04-18 04:42 GMT
New Delhi : Oil ministry has sought legal opinion on the arbitration notices slapped by British energy giant BP and Niko Resources of Canada against levy of penalties for KG-D6 gas production falling short of target.BP and Niko, which filed separate arbitration notices on March 23, are seeking to join their partner Reliance Industries’ fight against $1.8 billion of penalties slapped by the government for KG-D6 output lagging targets.
RIL had in 2012 initiated arbitration proceedings against levy of the penalty and the two foreign partners are seeking to join the same. Sources said the ministry has asked law officers if the Notice of Arbitration issued by BP and Niko were in accordance with the provisions of the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) and should they be acceptable by the government in the present form.