Gas row: RIL CEO, Anil meet govt officials

The head of Mukesh Ambani's exploration business and ADAG group chairman Anil Ambani separately visited the petroleum and finance ministries, respectively, ahead of a crucial affidavit the Centre is to file for becoming a party to the legal battle between the two groups for gas from Reliance Industries Ltd's Andhra offshore field. Reliance Industries CEO (oil and gas) P M S Prasad met petroleum ministry officials, ostensibly to discuss the price of crude from the company's Andhra offshore field. But industry sources said he came with the company's legal team to put across RIL's viewpoint regarding the Centre's affidavit. Prasad could not be contacted for comments. The finance ministry saw a visit by ADAG chairman but his group spokesperson dismissed talks of lobbying, saying Ambani was on "one of his usual Wednesday visits". The visits come at a time when the Ambani vs Ambani case in the Bombay High Court is focused on whether the gas price decided by the government last year was for calculating the Centre's share of profit or the minimum sale price. The petroleum ministry, which wants to become party to the case, is expected to state the government's views on the issue when it files an affidavit on its role in gas pricing. The ADAG group's stand is that the ministerial panel's price is for valuation and not for sale. Oil minister Murli Deora himself has told Parliament several times that "the government does not fix price of gas. The role of the government is to approve the valuation of gas for the purpose of determining government take". His ministry too recently told a House panel that records of the ministerial panel's meeting suggest that the approved formula/price of gas was meant for determination of government share and not the selling price but they (ministry) have been referring to it as sales price in its letters.