CBI seeks details from oil ministry on Reliance
The CBI, which has filed three preliminary inquiries related to alleged favour/s given by the ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to private explorers, has sought from it the documents on its decision to approve a hike in the expenditure incurred by the Reliance Industries Limited for its KG basin.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has filed three preliminary inquiries related to alleged favour/s given by the ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to private explorers, has sought from it the documents on its decision to approve a hike in the expenditure incurred by the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for its Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin.
The ministry, according to a CBI source, had given its approval to the company's representations seeking a hike in the capital expenditure “from US$ 2.4 million to US$ 8.8 billion with respect to its KG basin’s D6 block.” The CBI wants to verify whether the expenditure was allegedly inflated.
The details sought by the CBI included “all the relevant files, note sheets and all correspondence on the issue,” said the source. CBI filed its preliminary inquiries in 2009 to probe whether an alleged quid pro quo was involved in the ministry's decision to hike the expenditure.
The CBI also sought from the ministry's details pertaining to initiation/processing of "vigilance enquiry initiated by the chief vigilance commissioner against V K Sibal, the former chief of the ministry's technical arm, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. The CAG have questioned the approval of the hike in the expenditure and has sought the ministry's version.
The CBI has also sought details regarding representations made by the RIL for allegedly seeking relief from it despite not fulfilling drilling obligations.