The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had first on June 27, 2013, and then on December 19, 2013, decided to price all domestically produced natural gas, including unconventional fuels such as coal-bed methane and shale gas, at an average of international hub rates and the cost of importing liquefied natural gas.
The new price of $8.3 per million British thermal units was to be effective from April 1 but the Election Commission asked the government to defer the implementation until voting in the Lok Sabha polls ends on May 12.
Official sources said the PMO on April 7 asked Oil Secretary Saurabh Chandra to present the latest status on issues surrounding implementation of the decisions.
The new rate was applicable for domestic producers in both the public and private sectors.
However, the CCEA on December 19 decided that in the case of the Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields in block KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6, where output has missed targets, operator Reliance Industries will have to provide a bank guarantee equivalent to the incremental revenue it will get from the new price.
This surety would be encashed, depriving RIL of any incremental revenue, if it was proved that D1&D3 output dropped to one-tenth of the projected 80
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