$7.2 billion RIL-BP deal gets Cabinet nod

$7.2 billion RIL-BP deal gets Cabinet nod

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on Friday cleared London-listed BP’s proposed 30 per cent stake acquisition in Reliance Industries’ 21 oil and gas blocks but deferred a decision on two other blocks that were part of the $7.2-billion deal announced in February, petroleum minister S Jaipal Reddy said here.

The two excluded blocks — one in Assam and another off the northeast coast — are not producing oil or gas now and decision on them was deferred for “technical reasons”, the minister said.

The approval for the deal, which would pave the way for the largest FDI into India’s oil and gas sector, would enable Reliance to benefit from BP’s deep water exploration expertise.

The petroleum ministry and Reliance Industries are in correspondence over certain pending issues such as granting approval for second phase of exploration in the two blocks for which approval has not been given. The ministry will subsequently take a suitable administrative decision on this, said Reddy while briefing reporters about the CCEA’s decision. He added that the ministry might in future grant or refuse consent to transfer 30 per cent participating interest in these two blocks.