Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has said that it would challenge a $2.81 billion demand from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) after the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court ruled in a recent verdict. The demand is made for a long-standing issue pertaining to the alleged migration of gas from ONGC blocks to the KG-D6 Consortium blocks, of which RIL is a major partner.
The controversy goes back to a 2018 international arbitration award, in which the KG-D6 Consortium, including RIL, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited, and NIKO (NECO) Limited, was awarded around $1.55 billion against the Government of India (GOI) claims for gas migration from ONGC's blocks. The arbitral award was upheld by a single judge of the Delhi High Court in May 2023, but the GOI challenged the ruling.
In a recent filing with the regulator, RIL reported that the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court reversed the single judge's order on March 3, 2025, and the MoPNG issued a demand of $2.81 billion to the PSC Contractors—RIL, NECO, and ALPHA.
RIL has categorically said that the Division Bench order and the demand are "unsustainable" and is moving urgently to appeal against the order. The company went on to add that it does not expect any liability arising from the demand and has cited advice of counsel for this purpose.
Financial performance-wise, RIL recently announced a 12% year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, at an all-time high of ₹21,930 crore. Revenue for Q3 was up by 7.7% at ₹267,186 crore, while EBITDA rose by 7.8% at ₹48,003 crore.
The stock of RIL dipped marginally by 0.30%, closing at ₹1,167.55 per share.
Read also| India's Manufacturing Growth Slows but Remains Resilient in February: Report
