RIL to challenge $2.81 billion Govt demand following court reversal

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has announced its intention to challenge a $2.81 billion demand from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, following a recent ruling by the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court.

The demand stems from a long-standing dispute concerning alleged gas migration from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) blocks to the KG-D6 Consortiums blocks, in which Reliance is a key partner.

The dispute dates back to a 2018 international arbitration award, where the KG-D6 Consortium, comprising RIL, BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited, and NIKO (NECO) Limited, was awarded approximately $1.55 billion against the Government of Indias (GOI) claims. A single judge of the Delhi High Court upheld this award in May 2023. However, the GOI subsequently appealed the decision.

In a regulatory filing, RIL informed, "The Company had won arbitral award issued by an eminent international arbitration panel on July 24, 2018 against the Government of Indias (GOIs) claim on the KG-D6 Consortium for an amount of approximately US $1.55 billion on account of alleged gas migration from ONGCs blocks. A single judge of the Honble Delhi High Court, on May 09, 2023, dismissed the GOIs appeal challenging the arbitral award. GOI had filed an appeal before the Division Bench of the Honble Delhi High Court."

However, the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court on 3 March 2025 overturned the single judge's ruling, leading to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issuing a demand of $2.81 billion to the PSC Contractors--RIL, NECO and ALPHA.

Reliance Industries, in an official statement to the stock exchanges, has asserted that the Division Bench judgment and the subsequent demand are "unsustainable." The company has stated that it is taking immediate steps to challenge the judgment. Furthermore, RIL has expressed confidence that it does not expect any liability related to this demand.

"The Company is legally advised that the Division Bench judgment and this provisional demand are unsustainable," the company stated in its disclosure.

RIL is the largest private sector corporation in India. Its activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewables (solar and hydrogen), retail and digital services.

RIL had reported a 12% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to a record high of Rs 21,930 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. RIL's Q3 revenue grew 7.7% to Rs 267,186 crore, while EBITDA climbed 7.8% to Rs 48,003 crore.

Shares of RIL were down 0.30% at Rs 1167.55.

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