The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on Thursday rejected the contention that delay in deciding on the $9.6 billion Cairn-Vedanta deal would impact the latest round of auction of oil and gas blocks under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).
Making the stand of the Ministry clear, Joint Secretary (International Acquisition) Vivek Kumar said the Ministry had made it clear that it had no position on the deal.
“We are neither for or against the deal,'' he said while speaking at the CII roundtable on Overseas Energy Acquisitions.
While speaking at the CII roundtable on overseas energy acquisitions, Mr. Kumar said the delay, if any, was on the part of Cairn Energy as it did not submit the requisite applications seeking the government's nod for transfer of ownership in its 10 properties, including the prime Rajasthan oilfields. “The government will decide the case by February-end or March after considering all aspects. The issue involved inter-ministerial and inter-disciplinary consultations, including with the Law Ministry and SEBI,'' he stated.
He said the deal would not impact the auction of 34 exploration blocks in the IX licensing round. “The Cairn-Vedanta deal is not going to have any kind of impact on NELP-IX. We are aware of all aspects involved in the deal and a decision will be taken on merit,'' he remarked.
Mr. Kumar said Cairn did not submit proper applications for a long time. “We are aware of all aspects, including the right of an investor to have exit option,'' he said referring to the freedom to any firm investing in the oil and gas sector to sell its holding and exit.
However, in the case of the Cairn-Vedanta deal, technical, financial and legal aspects needed to be considered to take a comprehensive view, he said.
The government is closely vetting the transaction as a non-oil company is buying controlling stake in Cairn India, the owner of the nation's largest on land oil discovery.
