ONGC chairman and managing director R S Sharma has stated that the company's realisation was only Rs 2.97 per cubic meters after paying for royalties and taxes. Against this, the cost of production was Rs 3.272 per cubic meter.
The ONGC demand comes at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has referred the issue of gas pricing to a group of ministers after power and fertiliser sectors in general and Anil Ambani Group in particular wanted the government to renege on its promise of giving market price to companies investing in gas exploration.