A Parliamentary panel has asked India's upstream oil regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to settle disagreements over procedural matters internally.
Commenting on the face-off between the two over ONGC's gas discovery off the east coast, the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, in its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, asked DGH and ONGC not to go public with their differences and to exercise restraint.
ONGC had recently notified a gas discovery in block KG-DWN-98/2 after making a preliminary evaluation of the find by carrying out Straddle Packer Mud Drill Test. DGH, however, disallowed the discovery in the absence of a conventional test of hydrocarbons present.
"The Committee have found it unfortunate that DGH, the designated regulator for exploration and production, and ONGC, India's premier E&P company, have come out in the open with their differences on a number of issues in the recent past," the report said.
"As such things often have a negative bearing on the share price/market capitalisation of the company, the Committee have desired that disagreements, if any, over procedural matters should be taken care of internally without going public and have advised them to exercise restraint."
DGH head V K Sibal's statement to media disallowing the ONGC discovery had led to a crash in ONGC share price. The Ministry, however, told the Committee that DGH has accepted the ONGC find but has refused to accept its commerciality.
The Committee asked the government to make an assessment of the regulatory practises prevailing in other countries in the E&P sector and "adopt the best and most efficacious procedure, leaving no scope for bias or opacity."
Commenting on the face-off between the two over ONGC's gas discovery off the east coast, the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, in its report tabled in Parliament on Thursday, asked DGH and ONGC not to go public with their differences and to exercise restraint.
ONGC had recently notified a gas discovery in block KG-DWN-98/2 after making a preliminary evaluation of the find by carrying out Straddle Packer Mud Drill Test. DGH, however, disallowed the discovery in the absence of a conventional test of hydrocarbons present.
"The Committee have found it unfortunate that DGH, the designated regulator for exploration and production, and ONGC, India's premier E&P company, have come out in the open with their differences on a number of issues in the recent past," the report said.
"As such things often have a negative bearing on the share price/market capitalisation of the company, the Committee have desired that disagreements, if any, over procedural matters should be taken care of internally without going public and have advised them to exercise restraint."
DGH head V K Sibal's statement to media disallowing the ONGC discovery had led to a crash in ONGC share price. The Ministry, however, told the Committee that DGH has accepted the ONGC find but has refused to accept its commerciality.
The Committee asked the government to make an assessment of the regulatory practises prevailing in other countries in the E&P sector and "adopt the best and most efficacious procedure, leaving no scope for bias or opacity."
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