Three months after Reliance Industries and BP announced their "transformational" deal in this country, the two have begun operationalising the joint venture.
Significant, as BP's deal with RIL was the biggest foreign direct investment into India, but comes against the backdrop of growing concern over drop in gas production from the flagship Krishna- Godavari block.
In February, BP Plc had agreed to buy 30 per cent stake in 23 oil and gas blocks owned by RIL by paying $7.2 billion (Rs. 32,400 crore).
RIL would receive another $1.8 bn if it strikes more oil or gas. BP will make the payment in three parts before March 31, 2012.
In all, BP and RIL said, total investments could touch $20 billion (Rs. 90,000 crore).
Though all the regulatory and ministerial approvals are yet to come in, two working groups with specific mandates have been set up.
The first is a Joint Implementation Centre, with three representatives each from RIL and BP.
It will eventually become a High Level Overseeing Committee, with an overarching role to manage the 23 exploration and production blocks and ensure smooth functioning of the venture.
Senior RIL executives B Ganguly, senior vice-president, commercial; S C Verma, president, field development, and Rabi Bastia, senior VP and head of exploration are on the JIC.
RIL sources a company official will be managing director and a BP official the joint managing director.
Already three meetings of the JIC had taken place and the initial milestones drafted.
"It's a continuous process and a lot of information and data keeps getting exchanged and shared," said an official in the know.
There will be a second group, a technical committee, which will be a joint working group having the final word on technical matters.
This six-member team will have two members from BP and four from RIL's exploration and development divisions.
EVOLVINGRIL officials said though the broad contours were in place, there could be "some tweaking" of personnel and work profile.
"It has to be a constant process of evolution," added one, on condition of anonymity.
An RIL spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. BP India's spokesperson said: "BP has still not decided on individuals who will represent it on the management/technical committees."
However, sources said key officials
from BP's global workforce, including petroleum geologist Alistair Bent, were involved directly and some had visited India and Reliance offices in the recent past.