RIL accepted LoI placed by NTPC: Ramesh

The Government today said Reliance Industries Ltd had accepted the Letter of Intent placed on it by NTPC for supplying gas to the power major's plants but refused to sign the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement agreed upon.

Reliance had in 2004 offered a delivered price of USD 2.97 per million British thermal unit for about 3 million tonnes of gas a year from its eastern offshore fields to NTPC's power plants in Gujarat.

This was the lowest quote NTPC got in its global tender and it placed an LoI with RIL, Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha today.

"The LoI was issued to Reliance on June 16, 2004, which was duly acknowledged and confirmed by Reliance," he said in a written reply to a question. But subsequently, RIL did not come forward to sign the GSPA.

"After the issuance of the LoI, Reliance did not come forward to sign the GSPA and sought major changes in the agreed draft of GSPA," Ramesh said.

"NTPC pursued (the matter) with Reliance at various levels and at various meetings to sign the GSPA, as per the draft accepted by Reliance during the bidding process. However, in spite of all the efforts, Reliance did not sign the GSPA agreed during the bidding process," he added.