New Delhi,June 13:The Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has said the Oil Ministry and its technical arm, the DGH, bent rules for Reliance Industries, but did not conclusively say if the Mukesh Ambani firm overbilled the government on its KG-D6 gas fields to adversely impact government revenues.
In a draft audit report on the KG-DWN-98/3, or KG-D6, block, the CAG said the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) allowed Reliance to hike capital expenditure (capex) for developing Dhirubhai-1 and 3, the largest of 18 gas finds in the block, by 117 per cent.
“The increase in cost from (USD 2.39 billion in the) Initial Development Plan to (USD 5.196 billion) in the Addendum to the Initial Development Plan is likely to have a significant impact on the government of India’s financial take.
“However, at this stage, based on the information provided, we are unable to comment on the reasonableness, or otherwise, of the increase in cost, both overall and in respect of individual line items,” the CAG said in a draft report sent to the Oil Ministry for comments.
—Agencies