Reacting to the draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the audit performance of private operators, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on Monday said the Ministry was examining it and would give a detailed reply to all the observations.
In a statement issued here, the Ministry said the CAG had at its request in November 2007 agreed to carry out special audit in respect of certain blocks/fields operated under pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) and NELP regimes.
“The draft performance audit report sent by the Office of the Principal Director of Audit, Economic and Service Ministries has been received in this Ministry on June 8,” it said.
It said the Ministry would prepare a reply to the audit observations after obtaining details from the relevant agencies and send it to the Office of the Principal Director of Audit for further necessary action at their end.
Reliance statement
Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in a statement said Reliance Industries had not received a copy of the aforesaid report and hence was unable to comment on specific issues.
The RIL statement said that “as a responsible operator, it has fully complied with the requirements in the PSC [Production Sharing Contract] at all times in conducting petroleum operations, and refutes any suggestion to the contrary.”
“Significant contributor”
“The KG D6 project is a significant contributor to the country's economy and has been globally acclaimed for its cost-effective, speedy, flawless execution and smooth commissioning,” it added.