The Hindu Business Line : RNRL may bag 4 coal-bed methane blocks; RIL nil

A final decision on the awardees for contracts under the third round of bidding for coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks as per the CBM-III policy would be taken by the Union Cabinet based on the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries.

The Petroleum Ministry is all set to approach the CoS for this purpose. The Government had put on auction 10 blocks under the third round of CBM and the Ministry is hopeful of announcing the successful bidders by August 31.

Indications are that Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) may win four out of the 10 blocks. Going by the recommendations of the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), a consortium of RNRL, Reliance Energy Ltd, and Geopetrol Resources Inc of France, is likely to get two blocks in Barmer district, Rajasthan, and one each in Kothagudem in Andhra Pradesh, and Sohagpur in Madhya Pradesh.

The State-owned GAIL (India) Ltd with its partners Arrow Energy of Australia, EIG Energy Infrastructure Group of the US, and Tata Power Co Ltd is expected to get three blocks — Raj Mahal in Jharkhand, and Tatapani-Ramkola, and Mand-Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. The DGH has also recommended that British Petroleum be awarded Birbhum block in West Bengal, while the consortium of Coal Gas Mart of the US, Adinath Exim Resources Ltd, and Deep Industries Ltd should get Singrauli block in Madhya Pradesh, and Godavari North block in Andhra Pradesh.

However, Reliance Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Essar Group, and Indian Oil Corporation seem to have run out of luck under CBM-III.

Asked whether these recommendations are binding in nature, sources responded in negative but indicated that the Petroleum Ministry had, by and large, accepted the DGH recommendations on the awardees.

Sources told Business Line that the agenda paper for the consideration of the CoS is being prepared. Though the names of the successful bidders are expected to be announced by the month-end , the entire process from bid evaluation to the signing of the contracts is likely to take four months from the bid closing date of June 30. The contracts are likely to be signed by October. The estimated CBM resource in these blocks is about 635 billion cubic metre. The Government had received 54 bids for all 10 blocks by the bid closing date. As many as 26 companies - eight foreign and 18 Indian - had bid either on their own or as consortia. In all, 70 data packages amounting to Rs 9.50 crore were sold as against the previous best sale of 16 data packs amounting to Rs 2.09 crore under CBM-I.