The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry is understood to have approached the former Solicitor General, Gopal Subramanium, to act as arbitrator in the dispute with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) over the cost recovery issue in the KG-D6 block.
The government has disallowed RIL's $1.2-billion cost recovery from its investment in the KG-D6 field. RIL has already served an arbitration notice on the government and has subsequently taken it to the Supreme Court for its failure to appoint an arbitrator.
It is learnt that Mr. Subramanium, who was the Solicitor General and was advising the government, during the gas dispute case between the Ambani brothers, has been approached by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Jaipal Reddy, on the issue.
However, sources in the Ministry said talks with the former Solicitor General were still on and some positive action was expected in the next few days.
The Petroleum Ministry had disallowed a cost recovery of $457 million for 2010-11 and $778 million for 2011-12 due to RIL's failure to meet drilling commitments.
It had charged RIL with wilful and deliberate breach of the production sharing contract (PSC) and with failure to fulfil its obligations under the PSC which have led to immense loss and prejudice to the government and the people of India.
In a related development, the government is learnt to have zeroed down on the name of Rajiv Nayan Choubey, a 1981 batch IAS officer, for the post of full-time Director-General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).
Mr. Choubey is a Tamil Nadu cadre officer and is now the Handloom Development Commissioner in the Textile Ministry.
