Wednesday, August 12, 2009

curiouser and curiouser

The alleged CAG audit of RIL's gas fields in the KG Basin is getting curiouser and curiouser with the passing of each day. Directorate General of Hydrocarbons claimed on his website just last week that CAG had completed its audit of RIL's development plan. That turned out to be yet another lie in the long list of lies. This was denied outright by CAG officials who said that they were facing difficulty because they did not have access to RIL's books. Now Times of India has reported that CAG is having problems accessing other private operators' books as well. CAG has been unable to get access to BG and Cairn's books as well. With private operators not complying with the oil ministry, isn't it amazing that the DGH carries on regardless with his pack of lies.

The way the system works is that the contractor is allowed to recover all capex and opex from the fields and only then starts paying the government profit petroleum or profit gas. By inflating the capex development plan to Rs 45,000 crore, RIL is ensuring a massive loss to the government exchequer. The oil ministry has now woken up late in the day to ask operators to provide access to their accounts. A meeting has been convened on Auguyst 17 to discuss the same, according to ToI. Astounding is the DGH's blatant disinformation campaign in this regard. ToI also claims that the PSC gives the government every right to ask for any documentation or information pertaining to it, but yet the oil ministry and DGH are busy pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.

National resource is all very well, but the DGH is allowing its naked hijack in broad daylight, even as public interest falls by the wayside. RIL and its conniving partner DGH and oil ministry continue to get away scot free.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

suprises dont cease in this issue - the DGH goes on record saying CAG has completed the audit of RIL without even BOTHERING to check with CAG if that is true....the entities supporting RIL seems to have all developed a foot in mouth disease....In what could turn out to be an embarrassment for the Petroleum Ministry, the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General has stated that the recent claim of the Director-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) that Rs. 45,000-crore capex of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on the KG DWN 98/3 had undergone three audits, including that of the CAG, was not true to facts.