YANAM : NATURAL GAS SCAM

The draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General had accused the Petroleum Ministry and Director General of Hydrocarbon of “having failed to protect Governments financial interests”. This news shook the nation when media broke it .But the CBI had been lethargically and in slow pace pursuing a preliminary enquiry from 2009 into the role of Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry and of Directorate General of Hydrocarbon in their corporate dealings more specifically with Reliance Industries Limited.

Government of India headed by Dr.Manmohan Singh had always stood by corporate lobby and had extended step-motherly treatment to Government organizations like Oil and Natural Gas Commission. British Petroleum in 2005-2006 proposed to partner ONGC in three of its deep sea-blocks in Krishna-Godavari block in Bay of Bengal and in Gujarat-Kutch basin in Arabian Sea.

Our question to Honorable S.Jaipal Reddy current Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister who yesterday 20^th June in press conference had defended his predecessor’s decisions is as follows :

1. British Petroleum made formal proposal to take 40 to 50 percent stake in ONGC’s three blocks in 2005-2006. Why did Oil and Natural Gas Ministry and Director General of Hydro-carbon REJECT IT ?
2. The same British Petroleum had no other option but to embrace Reliance Industries Limited by agreeing to pay $7.2 billion dollars to acquire 30 percent stake in oil blocks of Reliance Industries Limited including KG-D6 fields . ONGC lost $7.2 billion dollars and Reliance Industries Limited bagged this, due to the nepotism and favoritism shown by Oil and Natural Gas Ministry towards a corporate organization at the cost of Government organization. Is it not a scam or is it not a matter of shame ?
3. ONGC has a gas discovery block next to Reliance Industries Limited block of KG-D 6. The ONGC block is named as KG-DWN -98/2. In September 2007 ONGC proposed to give out 15 percent interest in the block to Brazil’s Petrobras. ONGC also wanted to give out 10 percent to Norway’s Norsk Hydro. Why did the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry drag the issue for over a year and driving out two major nations Oil giants . Their partnership would have been a boost to ONGC , a government of India enterprise. Why Manmohan Singh was not aware of this act ?
4. In Gujarat-Kutch basin ONGC had license for petroleum exploration valid till August 2008. So British Petroleum which had an oil block in Pakistan bordering ONGC’s GK-DW 1 block was interested to tie up with ONGC. Both British Petroleum and ONGC had even signed an Memorandum of Understanding. But the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry adamantly refused and rejected by the end of 2007. It was not for extending the license of ONGC which ends in August 2008. Why people of India need not break their heads. ONGC is after all a Government of India enterprise, so it need not be encouraged is the policy thrust of UPA government. The irony is that British Government lobbied hardly for this project and even UK government’s lobbying does not melt the Petroleum Ministry.
5. For KARAIKAL-TAMILNADU media : In Cauvery basin CY-DWN-2001/1 deep water block production sharing contract duly signed by ONGC, Oil India and Petrobras of Brazil was submitted to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in 2009 January for clearance. It was stonewalled by the Ministry.
6. Six oil blocks three of which in KG basin, two off the Kerala-Konkan basin and one in Gujarat’s Kutch were given on nomination basis to ONGC in 2000. The Government organization struggled hard but it did not get clearances, may be a lobbyist had not been hired by ONGC.
7. Out of 33 oil blocks identified Reliance Industries Limited bagged 23 oil blocks and on that strength entered into a tie-up with British Petroleum. It is crystal clear that Government of India wanted to hand over all oil blocks to RIL, and the gigantic scam with Himalayan proportions has yet to be quantified.
8. CPI[ M] had alerted the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry and Prime Minister over this gas scam. But as usual deadly silence from Government quarters. CPI[M] in official statement accuses “ The price of natural gas for consumers was fixed at 4.2 dollar/unit by Empowered Group of Ministers in September 2007 in favour of RIL overlooking its earlier offer of 2.34 dollar/unit for the same to National Thermal Power Corporation.” SO RIL MUST MAKE PROFITS, that seems to be the Government of India policy which wants to kill the consumer with burden.
9. Dinamani, Tamil daily in its editorial dated 20-5-2011 says that we are offering the crude oil produced by ONGC to corporate giants at 30 percent less than international rates. If you read this along with CPI[ M] statement the GAS SCAM of UPA could be understood, though we have to wait for Comptroller and Auditor General to QUANTIFY it. Anyhow this will be the BIGGEST SCAM of THIS CENTURY IN INDIA.

We urge the CBI which prepared the Preliminary Enquiry in 2009 to hasten to file an FIR in the wake of CAG’s draft report and start the probe without delay.

N.Nandhivarman

General Secretary Dravida Peravai

21.06.2011