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ONGC-Reliance-BG will get additional revenue of $70 million from realising higher price for gas produced from Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields.
"The joint venture stands to gain $70 million in 2006-07," Reliance Industries president R P Sharma told reporters on sidelines of an oil and gas conference in New Delhi.
The joint venture will sell 5.4 million cubic meters per day of gas from Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields to GAIL at $4.75 per million British thermal unit (mBtu), about a dollar more than the present price.
"The consortium will continue selling 5.4 mmscmd of gas from the fields to GAIL for two more years beyond the expiry of current contract on March 31, 2006," a source said.
GAIL, which currently pays $3.86 per mBtu to ONGC-BG-RIL, would have paid $5.73 per mBtu for the PMT gas if the formula prescribed in the field contract was implemented.
But, Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan prevalied on the consortium to sell the gas at the maximum price it was getting from selling the remaining 4.8 mmscmd of PMT gas.
This month, ONGC struck a deal with Torrent Power of Gujarat for sale of 1.5 mmscmd of PMT gas at $4.75 per mBtu and this was set as the benchmark price, sources said.
ONGC-BG-RIL had asked Petroleum Ministry for permission to sell the entire gas produced PMT fields directly to customers at market price from April 2006.
Currently, the joint operators sell about 6 mmscmd of gas to GAIL at controlled price of $3.86 per mBtu or Rs 7,046 per thousand cubic meters (exclusive of sales tax). They market the remaining 4.8 mmscmd of gas from the fields at $4.08 per mBtu (or Rs 7,448 per thousand cubic meters).
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